Cummins’s absence is due to a back issue.
Cummins is yet to recover from his lumbar bone stress injury, suffered before the 2025-26 Ashes series, which kept him out of four of the five Tests. He did return to action in the third Test after rehabilitation, taking six wickets. But he was ruled out of the remaining two fixtures.
‘Pat Cummins will join a little bit later’
“He will probably join that World Cup group a little bit later in the tournament, around game three or four”, said Bailey.
“Clearly if something moves and we’re forced to cover that, we will.”
Cummins will also miss the three-match T20I series vs Pakistan, scheduled from January 29 to February 1. After the series, Australia will travel to Sri Lanka, where they will open their World Cup campaign against Ireland in Colombo on February 11.
Other than Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood, Tim David and Nathan Ellis have also been rested for the series. Their absence opens the door for fringe players Sean Abbott, Mahli Beardman, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Josh Phillippe, Mitch Owen and Matt Renshaw.
Bailey hinted that Maxwell and Ellis are being rested to manage their workload. The pair are participating in this week’s BBL finals. “You call it rest, we probably call it preparation. Get the best preparation they can to make sure that when they do join that World Cup squad, they’re ready to perform,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hazlewood is recovering from an Achilles injury and David from a shoulder issue. Smith was expected to make a surprise entry into the squad. He smacked a 41-ball ton in last week’s BBL game at the SCG. He has averaged 78.54 across his last BBL innings.