Pat Cummins ruled out of Australia's opening fixture of T20 World Cup after just one appearance in Ashes

Pat Cummins is set to spend more time on the sidelines after making just one appearance in the recent home Ashes as he is reportedly set to miss the early part of Australia’s ICC T20 World Cup campaign. Australia chief selector George Bailey had confirmed on Monday that the Test and ODI captain will be sitting out of their opening fixture against Ireland at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium on 11 February.

Cummins, who has been dealing with a nagging back issue in recent months, will also be skipping Australia’s upcoming T20I series against Pakistan and will join the squad only after their second match, against Zimbabwe at the same venue two days later, Bailey added.

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“Like nearly every tournament that we head to, particularly when it’s a really busy time of the year, it’s very much working with the individuals around making sure they get the best preparation they can to make sure when they do join that World Cup squad, they’re ready to perform,” former Australia batter Bailey was quoted by cricket.com.au as saying.

Bailey comments on Hazlewood and David’s availability

The Australian chief selector also discussed the availability of Cummins’ pace colleague Josh Hazlewood and explosive middle-order batter Tim David.

Hazlewood had picked up a hamstring injury while playing for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield in November, resulting in him missing the entire Ashes. David would then suffer a similar issue in the Big Bash League, where he represents Hobart Hurricanes the following month.

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Bailey remains optimistic about Hazlewood’s chances of featuring in the World Cup opener against Ireland.

“Part of that will certainly be how (Hazlewood and Cummins) are tracking and looking for the tournament, and if they’re both going well, then it’ll be just about covering any potential gaps that we may see throughout the tournament,” Bailey added.

David, meanwhile, had a “very minor setback” while recovering from the injury and is expected to regain full fitness ahead of the tournament – which gets underway on 7 February and runs till 8 March in India and Sri Lanka.

Australia, meanwhile, have named a provisional squad for the upcoming tournament which includes veteran all-rounder Glenn Maxwell – likely to make his final appearance in an ICC event – without making mention of any reserves.

The Bailey-led selection panel has until 31 January to finalise their 15-man squad that will be hoping to win a second T20 world title for the six-time ODI world champions.