Australia Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins said that the decision to not play in the IPL 2023 was pretty easy for him after he saw the tightly packed international schedule. Cummins calculated that he would be playing more than 100 days of international cricket over the next 12 months.
The pacer had been a vital cog for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who had bought him in IPL 2022 auction for INR 7.25 crores. However, he decided to skip the upcoming IPL 2023 to stay fresh for Australia’s international commitments.
"I really do love playing in the IPL, but just looking at the schedule, the decision was pretty easy. You not only want to be physically fresh but, as captain, you want to be mentally fresh as much as you can to make decisions,” Cummins was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
"Straight after the IPL, there are six Test matches, hopefully, we make the World Test Championship final. I was totally depleted after the last Ashes (in England) in 2019, so I just want to be going there as fresh as I can be," he added.
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Pat Cummins will begin his tenure as Australia's ODI captain against England on Thursday in Adelaide. After that Australia has home Test series against West Indies and South Africa coming up before a hectic 2023 highlighted by Test tours of India and England.
"The last 12-24 months, there has been a big focus on T20 cricket and I think that focus now shifts to ODIs with a World Cup in 12 months. To challenge ourselves against the current title-holders and probably the most in-form team around the world, there's a lot to play for,” he said.
Having replaced Aaron Finch as captain in ODIs, Cummins didn't predict many radical changes in leadership style in a role he will fulfill until at least the World Cup.
"When I took on this role, it was campaign-focused; there are a dozen ODIs until next year's World Cup and we will see how that goes and make a decision after that. I don't think you will see too much change from what Finchy brought to the squad around his captaincy. I hope I can provide an environment where the players can all go out and express themselves,” Cummins said.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
