Pat Cummins Injury Update – Australia Captain to Miss New Zealand T20Is: The fitness of Australian skipper and star pacer Pat Cummins has become a major concern for the team’s coaches and selectors, especially with a packed home season and the Ashes on the horizon.
According to Australian media reports, Pat Cummins is set to undergo scans on his back after experiencing some discomfort following his last outing against the West Indies.
Pat Cummins to Skip New Zealand T20Is
Australia’s next assignment is a three-match T20I series against New Zealand, scheduled for October 1, 3, and 4 in Mount Maunganui. But fans hoping to see Cummins in action will be disappointed – reports suggest he won’t feature in the series. Cricket Australia is keen to manage his workload carefully, with the Ashes 2025-26 being the big priority.
Pat Cummins last played competitive cricket in July 2025, during the third and final Test against the West Indies. Since then, he’s been on a break, sitting out the limited-overs games in the Caribbean as well as the home white-ball series against South Africa.
Pat Cummins Return Plans Before the Ashes
As per CODE Sports, Pat Cummins will undergo routine back scans after feeling some tightness since returning from the West Indies tour. The good news for Aussie fans is that News Corp reports he’s expected to return for the ODI series against India and will also play at least one Sheffield Shield match before the Ashes.
Josh Hazlewood on Shield Prep
Meanwhile, fellow fast bowler Josh Hazlewood spoke about the team’s preparation plans for the Ashes, explaining that different bowlers will follow different schedules.
“The Test guys will play more than one Shield game. They’ll probably play two or three, but everyone’s on different programs. I used it last year and I’ve sort of found that it’s very beneficial. Time on the field, multiple spells in a day, it’s sort of hard to replicate it at training,” Hazlewood told reporters, as quoted by Fox Cricket.
“It felt like over the last 12 months, the best way for me to go about it is just keep on ticking over, keep playing, not having too long off bowling.
“So if I can just keep staying up there, match intensity as long as I can, then that’s sort of the best way for me to go about it.”
Fan Frenzy for India Series
On the fan side of things, Cricket Australia has already seen massive excitement for the upcoming India series. Joel Morrison, CA’s Executive General Manager of Events and Operations, revealed that all Indian fan zones across the venues have sold out.
“We are thrilled by the overwhelming response to the Indian fan zones selling out across all eight venues,” Morrison said.
“We are excited to see the momentum building around this series and the strong passion fans continue to display for the game. We’re looking forward to a vibrant atmosphere in the stands and a world-class contest on the field between two great cricketing nations.”
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