‘Keen to play all three formats, we can make it work,’ says Cummins on workload and commitments

New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) Australia captain Pat Cummins has acknowledged the growing strain between international commitments and franchise cricket, warning that the balance may become harder to sustain for future players, even as he remains determined to represent Australia across all formats for as long as possible.

Several of Cummins’ long-time teammates, including Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, and Marcus Stoinis, have already stepped away from ODIs, while Mitchell Starc has given up T20Is in an effort to extend their careers. Cummins, however, is still committed to playing all three formats, even if that requires carefully managed rest periods.

“Still very keen to play all three formats, and at the moment I think we can make it work. I love Test cricket. Hopefully I’m in a cadence where I can keep doing that for three, four, five years and don’t have to forgo Test cricket,” Cummins told the Business of Sport podcast.

Despite ongoing back concerns, Cummins has maintained a strong presence in Test cricket, missing just two matches in a packed schedule between mid-2023 and the start of the recent home summer. At the same time, he has largely stepped back from white-ball internationals since Australia’s recent World Cup campaigns.

Beyond the IPL, Cummins’ global franchise footprint is expanding. He has already signed a long-term deal with a Major League Cricket team and expressed interest in eventually featuring in England’s Hundred competition. These commitments highlight the financial and professional pull of franchise leagues worldwide.

Reflecting on the broader landscape, Cummins admitted the sport is approaching a critical juncture.

“I think it’s at a tension point. It has been for a while, but I think it’s only growing. As each of these franchise leagues get well capitalised, get more sophisticated – some of these Indian franchise owners are now branching out and owning different leagues.”s

He noted that while countries like Australia and England continue to draw strong crowds and attention for Test cricket, the same cannot be said universally, creating uneven pressures across the global game.

“What we experience in Australia and in England is Test cricket is very well supported, the Test summer has big crowds and a lot of attention. That’s not the same for every other international side. Every country has slightly different challenges. As Australian captain, something we speak about is how do we make sure we’ve got our best Australian guys to choose from when we’re picking a Test side or an ODI side, because there is so much demand for them elsewhere.

“Even the way we contract players and talk about whether we let players go or not has evolved a lot in the last five or so years, because we don’t want to lose them, so you’ve got to give them a little more leash than maybe you did previously,” he added.

Cummins also pointed to a telling example later this year: Australia’s two-Test series against Bangladesh, scheduled during the Hundred window. Several Australian players are expected to forgo significant earnings to prioritise national duty, a decision he believes may not always be the case in the future.

“The interesting point is, big Ashes series, all the main guys want to play that series. (But), for example, during the Hundred this season we’ve got two Test matches against Bangladesh. All our guys that will play in that Test (series) have opted out of going into the Hundred auction – but that’s not going to be the case forever.

“Some of our guys are saying no to a half a million pounds for 20 days work to go and play those two Tests matches against Bangladesh – so I think it is a tension point. This is the essence: our guys are so keen to play for Australia that they’re happy to forgo that, but I don’t think we can just accept that’s always going to be the case forever,” he noted.

While acknowledging the financial rewards available to Australian internationals, Cummins cautioned against assuming that loyalty to national teams will indefinitely outweigh the appeal of global leagues.

“If you’re playing all three formats in Australia you’re very well compensated,” he mentioned.

–IANS

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