Cummins made a successful return from injury in Adelaide. (Getty Images: Philip Brown)
In short:
Australia could rest Pat Cummins from the upcoming T20 World Cup.
The Australian Test skipper made a successful return from injury in Adelaide but will not play in the remainder of the Ashes.
Australia play their tournament opener against Ireland in Colombo on February 11.
Pat Cummins is no certainty to feature in Australia's T20 World Cup campaign after completing a successful hit-and-run mission.
Fresh off a brilliant six-wicket cameo in the Ashes-clinching win in Adelaide, Australia's captain will miss the remaining Tests of the series in Melbourne and Sydney.
Cummins had been dealing with back stress issues since the tour of the West Indies in July, but targeted playing a role against England.
Despite bowling superbly in the nets, the 32-year-old did not play in the first two Tests in Perth and Brisbane.
With a 3-0 lead and the Ashes secure, Australia will not take anymore risks with such a prized asset.
"He won't play any part in the rest of the series," Australia coach Andrew McDonald said at the MCG on Tuesday.
"That was a discussion that we had a long time out around his return.
"We were taking on some risk … we've now won the series, and that was the goal.
"To position him for further risk and jeopardise him long-term is not something that we want to do, and Pat's really comfortable with that.
"If he had any setback in the build as well, we would have shut him down straight away."
The first game of Australia's World Cup campaign is on February 11 against Ireland in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
After lifting the trophy in 2021, Australia's last two tilts at the T20 crown have been underwhelming.
Although Cummins captains the Test and ODI teams, all-rounder Mitch Marsh leads Australia in the shortest format.
"I'm assuming, he'll have a check-in scan at some point and gather more information around where his back is at," McDonald said.
"Looking forward to the World Cup, whether he will be there or not, I can't really say.