Former Australian Test opener Joe Burns, who played a major role in the rise of Italian cricket, has been sensationally dropped from the side ahead of their maiden T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, leaving people questioning why such a drastic call was made.
Burns, who has played 23 Tests for Australia, has become the face of Italian cricket and his leadership is instrumental in their run to the 2026 FIFA World Cup T20, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka.
On Wednesday 17 December, the Italian Cricket Federation confirmed that Burns would not be part of their first World Cup campaign, with the management duties handed to Wayne Masden instead.
IN cricket board’s announcement, it was attributed to Burns’ availability and contract not being finalisedwhich resulted in his being dropped from the party. But the situation may be more complicated than it seems.
According to a report by The West Australian, an anonymous source revealed internal conversations that suggested Burns was pushing to improve his standards, particularly off the field. But this was met with a negative response.
“In my experience, we needed to address systems, processes, communication and integrity behind the scenes to have the best chance on the field,” Burns wrote to his teammates early last month.
“Advocacy can be tough, but that’s the weight of responsibility,” he added.
“Their response was that my standards are above those of Italian cricket.
“Since then, there has been a lot of inaccurate and disparaging information about me that has been used as an excuse for poor traffic.
“The reality of events has been distorted and many people have been misinformed as a result – albeit not intentionally.
“Please know that it was always my intention to care for you as brothers and help us become the best team we can be.”
Burns even dealt with contract negotiations with the Italian board, where he also revealed that he took a pay cut to lead the party because he believed the leadership role should not be for profit.
“It’s bizarre, the federation is now saying it’s because I didn’t agree to the proposal for the (World Cup)/November,” Burns continued.
“To be clear, I accepted their proposal on three separate occasions, which was for a lower payment than pre-qualification.
“The WC component should have followed the terms of the MOU. I also previously rejected the proposed captaincy bonus because I didn’t think the role should benefit.”
“I’ve wanted to focus on cricket for months. I have pages of notes on roles, strategy and training ideas that I wanted to jam into with you all, but the inefficiency has taken too long.”
The Italian team will have a tough ride in their first World Cup event, with England, West Indies, Bangladesh and Nepal also in the group stages with them, and Burns’ international experience could give them a bit of an edge. But now, without his experience, Italian cricket finds itself in dire straits.
– The end
Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
December 18, 2025
