‘Nothing’s changed’: Cummins weighs in on looming headache
Australian captain Pat Cummins has vowed to play “just about all” of the side’s Test matches over a gruelling 12-month period, admitting that “something has got to give” when it comes to his IPL commitments.
Cummins, who managed just one match during the Ashes series last summer due to a back injury, is back home after featuring in the Indian T20 competition.
Pat Cummins is gearing up for a busy Test period. Getty
His contract status with Cricket Australia has also been called into question in recent times amid conjecture around the national contract list, but Cummins has continued to reiterate his commitment to representing his country.
During an interview with Nine’s Today on Wednesday morning, the 33-year-old was asked about his current status and what the future looked like with away series against South Africa, India and England on the horizon.
“Nothing’s changed for me,” Cummins said.
“Number one [priority] is playing for Australia and I’ll be doing that for hopefully a fair few more years. I do IPL but that’s the only other league I’ll take up.
“We’ve got plenty of Test matches and the World Cup next year and I’ll be right there for all of them. It’s 21 Tests in less than 18 months and the ODI World Cup.
“It’s busy, but a lot of how we’ve been managing the players over the last six months has been with that in the distance.
“Even myself, I haven’t played too much to make sure my back gets right so hopefully I can play just about all of those games.”
Pat Cummins speaks about his Australian future. Nine/Today
The chaotic period will also see the Aussies host Bangladesh in August, before squaring off against New Zealand over the home summer.
With such a heavy international schedule looming, Cummins conceded he could forego playing in the IPL next season, putting the baggy green at the forefront.
“Something has got to give at some stage next year and it’s not going to be Test matches or an ODI World Cup,” Cummins told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“I will make a call a lot closer and work with the franchise to see what makes sense. I’ve had a couple of injuries ... I don’t 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 [Test series], I need some sort of break.”
The skipper also spoke at a press conference about the potential Big Bash merger between the Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars, with privatisation plans for the T20 competition ramping up and what it could mean for players trying to juggle the domestic league with their Test commitments.
“It’s no secret that Victoria are pretty keen to sell one of their teams, so it makes sense ... it wasn’t overly surprised,” he said. “I think if it [privatisation] is done well, it opens up a lot of other opportunities. A lot of these problems I think you can solve and they are minor issues.
“I think the world has changed, you do need to update the contracting structure to keep some control on those issues. Selfishly I’m the Aussie captain, so I want as many players available as possible for the Aussie set-up.
“There does need to be a few tweaks to make sure the priorities stay the same.”
Cummins also took a cheeky swipe at one of the Melbourne-based clubs.
“It also means the Stars never win a trophy, that’s quite funny,” he said.
