Australia’s ODI and Test captain Pat Cummins asked for a specific window for Test cricket to avoid a clash with the Indian Premier League (IPL) which usually runs from April to May.
Cummins, who represented Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2024 and lost the final to Kolkata Knight Riders (KRR), has advocated that league cricket in some countries is more appealing than international cricket which is why they should not clash with anything.
“Franchise cricket for some countries is more lucrative, more appealing than international cricket. If I went and played franchise cricket, I could probably be away for a half or a third of the amount we are for Australia,” Cummins said at the MCC World Cricket Connects 2024 at Lord’s.
“In Australia, Test cricket is from November to January, and basically, no other cricket is going to get in the way of us playing Test cricket then. If we can have specific windows for IPL, but then also Test windows, that makes the decision-making for the players a lot easier,” he added.
In 2025, if Australia reach the World Test Championship (WTC) final, they will play it in June just after the IPL ends after which they will travel to West Indies to play two Tests, three ODIs and as many T20Is.
Earlier this year, England captain Jos Buttler also stated the same when the English players had to leave IPL to participate in a five-match T20I series against Pakistan before the T20 World Cup 2024.
“It’s a unique buildup, that’s why we felt it was good to get the players together in this series. In my personal opinion, there should never be any international cricket that clashes with IPL. In my personal opinion, there should never be any international cricket that clashes with IPL,” Buttler said while speaking to Star Sports earlier.
- Pat Cummins
