Pat Cummins Ruled Out of Ashes 2025-26? Here's the Latest Update

The Ashes is one of the most competitive Test series in cricket, which happens between England and Australia every two years. Both teams travel to each other's country to play the 5-match Test series. This time, the series will be in Australia and will start on November 21, at the Optus Stadium, Perth. This is the first time the series opener match will be held in Perth. Both teams will be super excited to play the series against each other after a year.

Australia-England is one of the greatest rivalries in cricket. The rivalry well-known and worth watching for all the fans because of the moments that take place. It will be interesting to see how both teams manage their squads, injury, and the captaincy pressure during the Ashes 2025-26 series. Since the series falls under the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle, both teams will be eager to do well here.

Pat Cummins Ashes Dream Over?

Ahead of the start of the series, Australia have received terrible news. Captain Pat Cummins injury is likely to force him to miss the first few matches of the tournament. As per reports by the Telegraph, Cummins is suffering from a back injury and has undergone a few scans. While nothing is confirmed yet, this will be a huge blow for Australia if Cummins is ruled out of the series.

Australia have been quite dominating in the Ashes series since a long time. In the last few series, whenever the Ashes has been played in Australia, they have been dominant. Pat Cummins' stellar performance with the ball, his leadership qualities and the experience has played a key role in Australia's dominant performances. If he is ruled out, Australia will have to look for another captain which will disturb their team balance.

Pat Cummins Test numbers are outstanding which makes him such a key player for Australia. Meanwhile, Cummins hasn't been entirely ruled out of the series. He went through a few scans as he was suffering from back issues for past some time. The reports suggest that the board will now look into the workload management of Cummins just like how the BCCI is managing Jasprit Bumrah's workload.

Will Pat Cummins Play T20I Series Against New Zealand?

Australia will play a three-match T20I series against New Zealand which will be more like a warm-up series ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. The series will start on October 1 and will be played in New Zealand. While the squads of both teams aren't announced yet, Pat Cummins is most likely to miss the series due to routine scans.

Cummins has been experiencing tightness in his back and hence, Cricket Australia doesn't want to take any risk with the player. He is the Test captain of Australia and under him, they won the WTC final in 2023 by defeating India. He is currently one of the best Test captains in the world. Under his leadership, Australia also won the ODI World Cup later that year by defeating India in the final.

Since the tournament is almost a month away, the squad is set to be announced in a few days. Mitchell Marsh is likely to lead Australia while Mitchell Santner is likely to captain New Zealand in the T20I series. Both players are equally good and have performed extremely well in the past.

Hence, it will be interesting to see how the series unfolds for them. The T20 World Cup is just a few months away, so the preparations will be on the highest level. Moreover, it will be interesting to see if Cummins plays the T20 World Cup 2026 or not. His T20 record hasn't been great which make his inclusion in this squad even more difficult.