Australia’s Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka due to a persistent back injury.

The 32 year old test captain played just once in Australia’s 4-1 Ashes series victory over England, with his back causing problems for more than six months.

Although Cummins was included in the provisional World Cup squad, Australia have chosen Ben Dwarshuis for the final team. Matt Short was also omitted, making way for former Test opener Matthew Renshaw, who made his T20 debut earlier this week.

“With Pat needing more time to recover from his back injury, Ben is a ready replacement who provides a left-arm pace option along with dynamic fielding and late-order hitting,” selector Tony Dodemaide said.

“We believe his ability to swing the ball at good pace, combined with clever variations, will suit the expected conditions and the overall squad structure.”

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Australia, captained by Mitchell Marsh, are currently playing a three-match T20 series in Pakistan as part of their tournament preparation.

Veteran batsman Steve Smith missed out on the World Cup squad despite strong performances in the Big Bash League. Australia will open their World Cup campaign against Ireland on 11 February in Colombo.

“With the top order settled and spin-heavy conditions expected in the pool stages in Sri Lanka, we also feel Matt provides extra middle-order support, with Tim David completing his return-to-play program in the early phase of the tournament,” Dodemaide said regarding Renshaw’s selection. “As a left-hander, he also offers a point of difference to the middle-order batting.”

With inputs from BBC