Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins has conceded he may need to skip next year’s Indian Premier League because of a gruelling international schedule, declaring “something has to give” if he wants to continue prioritising playing for his country. Cummins is back home after another IPL campaign with Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he came up against “impressive” 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi. He will freshen up before Australia’s next Test assignment against Bangladesh in August.

What follows is a brutal stretch of up to 21 Tests in 12 months — pending qualification for another World Test Championship final — with Australia facing South Africa, India, and England away before finishing 2027 at the ODI World Cup in Africa. There is also a one-off 150th anniversary Test between Australia and England at the MCG in March. Wedged in the middle is the IPL, which runs immediately before an Ashes campaign next year in England that Australia will be desperate to win for the first time since 2001.

Cummins said a full five-Test series in India in January and February could leave him needing a break before the Ashes. “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, an Amazon Prime Video ambassador ahead of the women’s T20 World Cup, told this masthead.

“I will make a call a lot closer and work with the franchise to see what makes sense. Things can change. I’ve had a couple of injuries pop up, so 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, I need some sort of break before a pretty gruelling Ashes series.”

The workloads of Australia’s star fast-bowling trio of Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood will be carefully managed over that period, to the point where selectors could consider resting them during periods of a four-Test home summer against New Zealand in December and January.
“Yeah, it’s possible. I think we’re fairly open-minded to anything, as we’ve seen over the last couple of years,” Cummins said.

“Whether it’s a home Test or an away Test, we don’t see them as that different. A Test match is a Test match. We’re pretty realistic that we’re going to need more than three fast bowlers.

“I see a world where we’re potentially winding some bowlers down, even say at the back end of an Indian series if they don’t look like they’re going to play, to give them an extra rest ahead of the Ashes.
“I’ve played one [Test] in the last 12 months, so I’m feeling a lot fresher than maybe some of the other guys, but they are big series. It’s going to be a big push the next 18 months or so, but I think we’ll look back on it hopefully and see it as one of the more rewarding periods of our career.”

“I’d say [the mood in India] is still a little bit of disbelief. I think he’s got enough credits now that he’s not just a flash in the pan. He’s a real talent,” Cummins said. “He’s just a really good hitter of the ball. He’s clearing [the boundary] by 20 or 30 metres, so your margins for error become really small when someone is that strong and has got so many options. He’s really impressive.”

Cummins also backed Australian women’s captain Sophie Molineux to thrive at her first global tournament in charge. Australia opens its T20 World Cup campaign against South Africa at Old Trafford on June 13. Australia faces Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and India in the group stages.
“They’re always very good when they go into a tournament,” Cummins said of an Australian side who have won three of the past four tournaments.
“They’ve got a couple of young guns who are starting to hit their stride, and it’s obviously Soph’s first tournament in charge, so all the signs are looking pretty good.

“I don’t know Soph very well, but everyone who speaks of her says they love playing alongside her. If you’ve got the backing of the players, most of the other things sort themselves out. She’ll be fantastic. She’s obviously a really popular captain, so she’ll do great.”