Big Bash star Mitch Owen dumped from Australia squad as injured Pat Cummins named for World Cup
Mitchell Owen's hopes of playing at the upcoming T20 World Cup have been shattered after Australian selectors dumped him from the squad on Thursday.
Owen looked all-but certain to have sealed a spot in the squad at the beginning of the BBL season, however a troubling run of recent results have seemingly proved costly.
The Hobart Hurricanes superstar has recorded a top score of 32 in his last five matches, with the return of Cameron Green pushing him out of the 15-man squad set to play the World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next month.
READ MORE: Cricket world pays tribute to Aussie great in 'serious condition'
READ MORE: What 'weak' Aussie team could look like for 2027 Ashes
READ MORE: Mam's major gong as 2026 NRL predictions revealed
Owen is one of three Australians to have played 13 T20Is over the past six months, yet his only chance of being called up to the team now relies on injuries to the group.
There may be an injury cloud hanging over Pat Cummins but that is not enough to deter selectors from naming the Australian Test captain in the World Cup squad.
Mitchell Owen of Australia bats during game two in the T20 International series against South Africa. Getty
Cummins was restricted to just one match in the ongoing Ashes series on home soil as he worked to rehabilitate a lumbar stress injury in his back, which he suffered in July.
The 32-year-old was ruled out of the final two Tests after Australia won the Ashes in Adelaide, but he remained hopeful he would be fit for the T20 World Cup.
Cummins is still set to undergo a scan on his back at the end of the month to ensure he will be fit to play in February, in what will be his first T20I since June, 2024.
In the event Cummins is unable to play, the team will be able to source a player outside the squad to fill in for him. Mitchell Marsh is Australia's T20 captain.
Cummins will join the bowling group alongside left-arm spinners Matt Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly, with the pair rewarded following a series of impressive displays in the Big Bash League. Josh Hazlewood will also return from injury.
Australia captain Pat Cummins leaves the field. Getty
Along with the bowling group, three players - Kuhnemann, Matthew Short and Xavier Bartlett - are hopeful to make their World Cup debuts.
George Bailey, chair of selectors, is confident the team will continue their long run of success in the T20 format.
"The T20 side has enjoyed a long run of recent success which enabled the panel to choose a balance of players across the variety of conditions Sri Lanka and India may present," he said.
"Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Tim David are tracking well and we are confident they will be available for the World Cup.
"This is a preliminary squad so should changes need to be made they will ahead of the support period."
AUSTRALIAN SQUAD: Mitchell Marsh, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa.
