"Something has got to give" Cummins hints at skipping IPL next year as Australia gear up for Ashes, WC2027
Sydney, June 3
Australia skipper Pat Cummins has hinted that he could skip next year's Indian Premier League as he prepares for a long Test season and for their road to the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Cummins is back home after featuring for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the second half of their season, which ended in the eliminator. He will be aiming to freshen his legs for the next Test assignment at home against Bangladesh from August.
After that, will be a stretch of 21 Tests in 12 months, with the qualification for the ICC World Test Championship final at stake. Tough away from home assignments against South Africa, India and England will be there, and Aussies will finish 2027 with the ODI World Cup. In March of that year will be the 150th anniversary Test between Australia and England in March.
Right in the middle is the IPL, happening before the Ashes campaign next year in England that Aussies will be raring to win, having not won a series there since 2021. Cummins said that a full five-match Test series against India away from home could leave him in need of a break before the away Ashes.
"Something has got to give at some stage next year and it is not going to be Test matches or an ODI World Cup," Cummins said to the Sydney Morning Herald.
"I will make a call a lot closer and work with the franchise to see what makes sense. Things can change. I have had a couple of injuries pop up, so I do not really want to lock in anything."
"The priorities for me are always the Test matches and that ODI World Cup. I dare say if I play all of India, I need some sort of break before a pretty gruelling Ashes series," he continued.
The workload of the ageing pace trio of Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will be carefully managed throughout these tough Test and ODI assignments, and they could be rested during periods of a home four-Test series against New Zealand in December and January.
"Yeah, it is possible. I think we are fairly open-minded to anything, as we have seen over the last couple of years," Cummins said.
"Whether it is a home Test or an away Test, we do not see them as that different. A Test match is a Test match. We are pretty realistic that we're going to need more than three fast bowlers."
"I see a world where we are potentially wind some bowlers down, even say at the back end of an Indian series if they don't look like they are going to play, to give them an extra rest ahead of the Ashes," he continued.
Cummins, who featured in just one Ashes Test after the ICC World Test Championship final last year, says that he is "feeling a lot more fresher".
"It is going to be a big push the next 18 months or so, but I think we will look back on it hopefully and see it as one of the more rewarding periods of our career," he signed off.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Typical Aussie attitude - "IPL is just a holiday, Tests are real cricket." Meanwhile Indian players get bashed if they skip IPL for national duty. But I get it, 21 Tests in 12 months is brutal. For a fast bowler especially, something has to give. Hope our BCCI also starts understanding player workload instead of forcing everyone to play every IPL match. 🏏
He says "priorities are always Test matches" but conveniently played IPL when he was fit. Hypocrisy much? But then again, crores of rupees are involved. If I was in his shoes, I'd also take the money and then talk about priorities. Cricket is business now, whether we like it or not.
As an Indian fan, I actually want international players to skip IPL if it helps them perform better for their countries. The Ashes is special, World Cup is special. We can't expect them to play IPL like robots. Hope the BCCI also gives our pacers like Bumrah similar rest - we see what happens when they're overworked. 🙏
It's interesting how Cummins talks about managing workload but Starc and Hazlewood are the same age. The real issue is that the international calendar is too packed. No wonder players are burning out. The ICC needs to step in and reduce meaningless bilateral series.
Fair enough. The Ashes is what defines Australian cricket. IPL is just a paid holiday for international players. If he wants to be fresh for the big series, he should skip it. No
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