Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden has criticized the Australian players for preferring the Indian Premier League (IPL) over country cricket and made the bold comment that Cricket Australia (CA) is being led around by the players lately when it comes to making decisions about their availability.
He believes that the pattern of preferring franchise cricket over international cricket could prove to be a major setback for Australian cricket and suggested the CA not allow the players to "cherry-pick" the series they want to take part in. He also said that the players "shouldn’t be paid for work they don’t do."
His comments came after several top players, including Pat Cummins, David Warner, and Josh Hazlewood, decided to sit out or rest for the upcoming white-ball series against Pakistan, scheduled to be played in March and April.
CA, on the other hand, confirmed that they will not participate in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 until the tour is completed.
Hayden was quoted as saying by The Australian: “I just feel Cricket Australia is being led around by the players lately and that has created a unique set of problems. You shouldn’t be able to cherry-pick when you want to play for Australia. It does not make any sense to me.”
He further explained, “We all know how important the IPL is and it has its window and I know it can be difficult for players and administrators to operate within the confines of modern schedules but I still think you can’t have your cake and eat it. If you are unavailable to play for Australia there has to be some accountability. You shouldn’t be paid for work you don’t do and should have to salary sacrifice.”
The 50-year-old, who represented Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during his playing days in the IPL, said that he never compromised on his national duties for the cash-rich T20 league.
Hayden signed off by saying, “People will say that I played IPL which is true but it never have an any effect on my availability playing for Australia. I couldn’t wait to play for Australia because I spent seven years where I couldn’t get in the bloody team.”
