Joe Burns, who helped Italy seal maiden T20 World Cup berth, left out of squad for marquee tournament

By Samira Vishwas On Dec 19, 2025

Joe Burns, the former Australia cricketer who masterminded Italy’s fairytale qualification to their maiden T20 World Cup, will miss the 2026 tournament after being dropped by the Italian Cricket Federation (FCRI) amid contractual problems. The FCRI said in a statement that no final agreement could be reached with Burns about the contract, which is the reason why he had to be left out.

The federation, however, didn’t elaborate on the nature of the problems in the contract negotiations that has resulted in the development. Burns, who had played 23 Tests and six ODIs for Australia between 2014 and 2020, captained the side that booked a maiden T20 World Cup berth in July through European qualifiers, setting up the nation’s tournament debut in India and Sri Lanka from February 7.

Burns played eight T20Is for Italy, hitting one hundred and one fifty, and averaging 45 with a strike rate of nearly 140 in the process.

“Although preliminary contacts regarding his (Burns) availability have been made in recent weeks, no final agreement has been reached and, as a result, no contract has been formalised,” the FCRI said in a statement on Tuesday.

“At the same time, internal technical and organisational assessments have led to Wayne Madsen being identified as the most suitable choice to lead the team.”

The federation, however, said that Burns will lead Italy in the upcoming tour against Ireland before they head to the World Cup. It also said that the decision to leave him out of T20 World Cup squad “responds to the need to ensure stability, harmony, and continuity for the team, elements deemed to be priorities over short-term objectives.”

Italy played their maiden T20 International against Germany only in 2019. In July 2025, they ensured The Netherlands didn’t overhaul their target of 135 inside 14 overs (overhauled in 16.2 overs) in the last match of the men’s T20 World Cup European qualifier, which was enough for them to qualify.

Going into the final day on Friday, Italy, Netherlands and Jersey – a tiny island with just a population of 1,03, 267 that sits on the English Channel – were vying for the two spots available for the T20 World Cup. The day began with a shocker as Jersey pipped Scotland by one wicket off the final ball, which meant they had to wait till the outcome of the Italy versus The Netherlands fixture. The close result in the game played into Italy’s hands.