Australian Test captain Pat Cummins has emphasized that representing his country in Test cricket remains his top priority, while acknowledging the need to balance his commitments with the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Cummins, who led Sunrisers Hyderabad to the IPL 2024 final, is aware of the new IPL rules that could impact his future participation in the tournament. Under the revised regulations, overseas players who do not register for the player auction in a particular season become ineligible to participate in the following year’s auction. Additionally, players who make themselves unavailable after being picked at the auction face a two-season ban.
“I’ll work out in the next little bit what this season looks like. There’s a bit of a tweak in the rules, but I don’t know whether that would have affected me in the past, I’ve never pulled out after the auction. But it is one more factor to consider with the IPL,” Cummins told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Despite the potential implications, Cummins remains steadfast in his commitment to Test cricket. “Test cricket is the absolute No.1 priority, world cups are right up there, and then I think you use them as your tent poles and work out what else makes sense around that,” he said.
Cummins acknowledged the demanding nature of the international cricket calendar and the need to prioritize his commitments. “The calendar is never going to get any less busy, and I’m not going to get any younger, so these things have always been considerations, and moving forward will become even more so. But needless to say, playing cricket for Australia, particularly Test matches, is my number one job and priority,” he added.
Looking ahead to the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, Cummins expects a fiercely contested series. “The couple of home series I’ve played against India there’s always an element of attrition to them. The last series came down to the last session at the Gabba on the last day of the last Test match,” he said.
“That’s a good thing to keep in mind; it is a long series, and it might be tightly held until the last game, so you’ve got to manage your resources throughout,” the Australia captain added.
