Pat Cummins Injury Update
Pat Cummins has officially been ruled out of Australia's upcoming white-ball series against India and New Zealand, thanks to a particularly annoying lumbar bone stress in his lower back that cropped up after a heavy bowling workload in the West Indies and World Test Championship final. Not a stress fracture, Cricket Australia insists, just bone stress—though honestly, as a cricket fan, that distinction is about as comforting as finding out your favorite dessert is “just missing chocolate.”
7Cricket (@7Cricket) reported that on Twitter, Pat Cummins has been ruled out of Australia’s white-ball series against New Zealand and India due to a back injury.
The timing’s rotten: with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma returning for India in a series that promised fireworks, Cummins—who has dismissed that pair a combined 19 times—won’t be there to spice things up. There’s a weird déjà vu here; back issues kept Cummins off the field for much of his early career, and the specter of missing big matches always feels just a little too close.
But selectors like George Bailey are still optimistic: “plenty of time left, somewhere in the 80-day range,” they say, suggesting that yes, the plan is for Cummins to be fit for the five-Test Ashes series that kicks off November 21 in Perth.
I can't help but remember last summer’s mini pre-season, when Cummins used forced downtime to come back roaring for the home Tests. Secretly, I hope he’s bingeing on physio and Netflix today—maybe a re-watch of his six-for against South Africa at the WTC final—to keep spirits high. 7Cricket (@7Cricket) shared on Twitter that Pat Cummins’ back injury has sidelined him from Australia’s white-ball series against New Zealand and India.
If you're curious, lumbar bone stress basically means tiny cracks or damage in the lower back bones from repeated strain—nothing too dramatic, but if left unchecked, it could get worse and require 8-12 weeks of careful rehab.
Fast bowlers live on this edge: technical perfection one minute, taped-up backs the next. The good news? Cummins is durable—the man barely missed two Tests since taking over as captain almost four years ago, and those close calls (like being COVID-exposed last Ashes) feel like proof he’s always plotting a comeback.
