Joe Burns scored 271 runs in eight T20Is, including one hundred for Italy.
Joe Burns led the Italian men's cricket team to the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka after they won the five-team ICC T20 Men's Europe Region final in July of this year.
The 36-year-old Burns, who has played 23 Tests for Australia and scored four hundreds, is eligible to play for Italy since his mother is Italian. He was a standout during Italy's qualification campaign for the first T20 World Cup.
The Italian Cricket Federation said that Burns won’t be available, as both parties failed to reach an agreement over a formal contract.
“Madsen brings significant international and domestic experience to the position, having already represented Italy in T20Is, and remains a central figure within the squad’s leadership group. The Federation can also confirm that Joe Burns will not be selected as part of Italy’s squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” the Italian Cricket Federation stated.
However, a report in News.com.au in Australia has revealed that Burns shared the reasons for his departure with his teammates on WhatsApp.
“In my experience, we needed to address systems, processes, communication, and integrity behind the scenes to give us the best chance on the field,” Burns wrote to his teammates on 12 November.
“Advocacy can be tough, but that’s the weight of responsibility. They responded that my standards were above the standards of Italian cricket. Since then, a lot of inaccurate and disparaging information has been circulated about me and used as an excuse for poor operations.
The reality of events has been misrepresented, and, as a result, many have been misinformed—even if not intentionally. Please know my intentions have always been to look after you boys like brothers and to help us become the best team we can be,” he added.
Burns also told his teammates that he was willing to accept the plan despite the pay decrease, but that "inefficiencies had gone on for too long."
“Bizarrely, the Federation is now saying this is because I didn’t agree to the WC (World Cup)/Nov proposal. To be clear, I accepted their proposal on three separate occasions, which was for less payment than pre-qualifying.
The WC component was to follow the MOU terms. I had also previously declined a proposed captain’s bonus because I didn’t think that role should be profited from. For months, I’ve wanted to focus on the cricket. I’ve got pages of notes on roles, strategy, and training ideas that I was keen to get stuck into with you all, but the inefficiencies had gone on too long,” Burns’ messages to Italian teammates read.
Joe Burns scored 271 runs in eight T20Is, including one hundred, at a strike rate of 138.97 for Italy.
The Italian team will have a tough run at their maiden World Cup run, with the likes of England, the West Indies, Bangladesh, and Nepal also slotted in along with them in the group stages.