An Australian by birth, Burns represented the Australian national side before making a switch to Italy

Whether it's cricket, football, or any other sport, the main focus of headlines in every World Cup edition is on the dominant teams. For example, in cricket, the spotlight is always on India, Australia, and England. However, for the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, sports media outlets have put a considerable amount of effort into covering developments in the Italian camp.

After all, Italy is one of the biggest football-playing nations in the world, and it is entering a cricket World Cup for the first time, with the potential to attract a significant viewership from Europe that could help bridge the gap between cricket and the continent. However, Italy, even before its World Cup debut, landed in a controversy when it sacked Joe Burns.

Who is Joe Burns?

Born in Australia, Joe Burns is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Kangaroos in 23 Test matches and six ODI games. In 23 test games, he had accumulated 1,442 runs at an average of 36.97, whereas in ODI, he made 146 runs at an average of 24.33. Overall, he has five centuries and nine fifties in his international career. Unfortunately, inconsistency, multiple injuries, and the competitive nature of the Australian camp prevented him from flourishing, leading to his disappearance from the international scene until 2024, when he announced his decision to play for Italy.

Why Italy?

Burns’ grandparents were immigrants from Calabria, Italy, who moved to Australia after WWII. This made Joe Burns eligible to represent Italy in international cricket. In 2024, after Joe Burns’ brother Dominic Burns passed away, Joe decided to don the Italian jersey and play with the no. 85 jersey because his brother was also a local cricketer who used to play with the no. 85 jersey.

What’s the controversy?

It is no surprise that when Joe Burns announced he would play for Italy, the Italian side wasted no time making him captain. After all, Burns was coming from a country that is known for its cricketing prowess, and Burns himself was part of that ecosystem. His experience gave a huge boost to the Italian side that was on the way to its first-ever ICC World Cup.

However, merely two months before the World Cup, i.e., in December 2025, Italy stripped Burn of his captaincy, stating, “Although preliminary exchanges of availability took place recently, a full agreement was never reached and, consequently, a formal contract was not signed.” Rumours suggested that Burns was dissatisfied with the amount the contract offered, but the former Australian cricketer provided his own perspective.

Burns’ comment

According to Burns, the Italian Cricket Federation had informed him that his cricketing standards, requirements, and principles off the field were higher than those of the board. Australia further reported that Burns texted his teammates, stating, “In my experience, we needed to address systems, processes, communication and integrity behind the scenes to give us the best chance on the field. Advocacy can be tough, but that’s the weight of responsibility. Their response was 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.”

Italy has reached the World Cup with Burns leading the way, but will the team manage when it matters the most without their experienced captain?