Joe Burns, former Australia Test opener, appointed as captain of Italy

Italy's new captain, Joe Burns, assumed the role after deciding to switch his allegiances from Australia to Italy in May of this year. The former Australian batter brings experience and leadership to the team.

Burns, who was born in Brisbane, had qualified for Italy through his mother's heritage and made his debut for them in June.

"I am honoured to take on this role and represent Italy on the international stage," Burns said in a statement. "For me, it is a return to my family's roots. Italian cricket has enormous potential and I am excited to contribute to its growth. Together with my team-mates, we are working to achieve ambitious goals and make our fans proud."

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Fabio Marabini, president of the Italian Cricket Federation, backed Burns to succeed in the leadership role. "Since day one, Joe has shown great generosity and professionalism, putting his experience and competitive spirit at the disposal of the team," he said. "His choice as captain reflects our ambition to take Italian cricket to new levels. We are also counting on his leadership to play a leading role in the next qualifying stages for the 2026 T20 World Cup."

Burns has played five T20Is so far, all for Italy, scoring 211 runs at an average of 70.33 and strike rate of 144.52. In his most recent T20I, he scored an unbeaten 108 off 55 balls to set up a victory against Romania in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub Regional Europe Qualifier Group A.

Burns has also attracted interest in franchise T20 cricket, with Dubai Capitals signing him up for the upcoming season of the UAE's ILT20. Burns has also featured in the Vitality Blast apart from the Big Bash League.

In his previous coming, as an Australia Test opener, Burns had scored 1442 runs from 40 innings across 23 matches - between December 2014 and December 2020 - hitting four centuries and averaging 36.97.

Italy had also emerged on the IPL radar when Burns' team-mate Thomas Draca made the long list for the 2025 player auction. The fast bowler, however, didn't make the final cut.