Australia skipper Pat Cummins’ chances of playing at next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka are “quite grey at the moment” as he continues to battle a back stress issue that affected his participation in the ongoing Ashes series against England. Cummins returned to action in the third Ashes Test in Adelaide after missing the opening two matches and picked up six wickets to help Australia clinch the series 3-0. However, the Australian Test and ODI captain will take no further part in the series, and his participation in the T20 World Cup remains uncertain. Mitchell Marsh is currently Australia’s T20I captain.

“Looking forward to the World Cup, whether he will be there or not, I can’t really say. It’s quite grey at the moment. We’re hopeful,” head coach Andrew McDonald was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. The fast bowler was diagnosed with a lumbar stress reaction during Australia’s tour of the West Indies in July. He underwent rehabilitation before being cleared for a carefully managed return in Adelaide.

“He’s pulled up fine. He won’t play any part in the rest of the series, and that was a discussion we had a long time out around his return,” McDonald said. “We were taking on some risk, and people who reported on that would understand the risk associated with that rebuild. We’ve now won the series, and that was the goal. “So to put him at further risk and jeopardise him long-term is not something we want to do, and Pat’s really comfortable with that,” he added. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on February 7 across India and Sri Lanka, with the final set for March 8. Australia’s first match is on February 11 against Ireland in Colombo.