Rome [Italy], December 17 (ANI): Former Australia cricketer Joe Burns was replaced as Italy's captain and has been left out of Italy's ICC T20 World Cup 2026 plans, according to ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday.

Burns, who has played 23 Test matches for Australia, led the Italy men's cricket team and was a key member of its qualifying campaigns over the last 18 months, culminating in July this year.

Burns captained Italy to memorable wins over Guernsey and Scotland at The Hague in Europe's regional qualifier, which helped his side earn a historic T20 World Cup spot.

The Italian Cricket Federation (FRCI) announced Wayne Madsen as the captain for a series against Ireland, followed by the T20 World Cup, co-hosted in India and Sri Lanka next year.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Burns was aware of his potential exclusion for a while. Madsen was first named captain in an FRCI press release at the end of November, when he was with the team in the UAE for a training camp. Burns was not part of the squad for that camp.

'Although preliminary exchanges of availability took place in recent weeks, a full agreement was never reached and, consequently, a formal contract was not signed,' the FRCI statement said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Marco Mastrorocco, Italy's Cricket head of performance, told ESPNcricinfo that he had communicated with Burns and FRCI, and that the former had made clear and Burns had accepted the deal. Mastrorocco was involved as a translator.

'Joe has had a huge impact on Italian cricket and is a person of high integrity and a top professional,' Mastrorocco said. 'I'm shocked by the decision.'

The former Australian cricketer Burns played eight T20Is for Italy. He scored one hundred and one fifty at an average of 45 with a strike rate of nearly 140.

Meanwhile, the 10th edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on February 7 next year. The prestigious tournament will run until March 8.

India and Sri Lanka will co-host the 20-team tournament across 29 days and eight venues (five in India and three in Sri Lanka).

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chennai), Arun Jaitley Stadium (New Delhi), Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai), Eden Gardens (Kolkata), R. Premadasa Stadium (Colombo), Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground (Colombo) and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (Kandy) round out the complete list of host venues. (ANI)