Australia face massive blow as star player ruled out of T20I and ODI series against India

Australia have faced a massive challenge ahead of the home white-ball series against India at home and the following Ashes 2025/26 as their red-ball captain, Pat Cummins, has been ruled out of the white-ball series and is expected to be under the scanner for the England series after a scan revealed lumbar bone stress in his lower back.

That means Cummins won’t play any cricket for Australia ahead of the Ashes, which start on November 21 in Perth. His bowling workloads are considered significant as he missed the five T20Is against West Indies and both white-ball series against the Proteas. Meanwhile, he has been cleared of any fracture in his lower spine.

The New South Wales-pacer was out of the red-ball series due to stress fracture across the first six years of his international career and didn’t feature in a Test match between his debut in 2011 and his second Test in India in 2017. Since that time, he has faced various issues, including the hamstring issue and ankle injury.

Australia sweats over Pat Cummins’ injury status ahead of home Ashes 2025/26

In each of the three calendar years, Cummins had bowled 400-plus overs in cricket but had bowled only 175.1 overs in the nine months of 2025, with 95.1 overs coming across the four Tests in June and July against South Africa in June during the WTC final and the away West Indies series in the Caribbean. Even with a possible Shield game and the four Ashes, he isn’t expected to complete 400 overs by the end of this year.

“Cummins was rested from the recent T20 series against the West Indies and South Africa. Despite this planned de-load period, Cummins has experienced some ongoing lower back pain following the West Indies Test tour.” The Cricket Australia statement expressed.

“Further investigation has identified a level of lumbar bone stress that will require further management over the coming months. Cummins won't be considered for the upcoming limited-overs series against India and will continue his rehabilitation plan with a return to bowling to be determined as part of his Ashes preparation.” The statement added.