Australia Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has acknowledged that franchise leagues all over the world have given rise to a lot of tension in Cricket Australia, and all parties concerned are affected.
Not long ago, playing for one’s country was considered to be the pinnacle of one’s career. Not anymore. Especially if there is a lucrative franchise league versus a lesser international cricket team as your opponent.
Australia are scheduled to play a lot of Test matches home and away in 2026-27, and they start their home season with a Test series against Bangladesh in August from 13-26.
In late July, The Hundred will also kick off in England and will go on till August 16. Much as they would have liked to play, the Aussie Test players chose to play for their country, but whether they really wanted to do it in light of the big money in The Hundred, no one can say for sure.
“Some of our guys are saying no to a half a million pounds for 20 days’ work to go and play those two Test matches against Bangladesh,” Cummins told the Business of Sport podcast.
“It’s at a tension point. It has been for a while, but I think it’s only growing.
“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,” he added.
More incentive for Cummins!
Cummins, designated Sunrisers Hyderabad captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL), is going to miss the initial few matches this season as he is recovering from a back injury. Sunrisers Hyderabad also own Sunrisers Leeds in The Hundred. And now what Cummins says is something that takes the veil completely off his thoughts. His wife Becky is from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and he won’t mind playing in The Hundred since it serves two purposes.
“We spend a lot of time over in England during the summer. All the boys that go and play it love it. Slightly different format; I think it’s less than a month long. It looks good fun, so one day I’d like to play,” he said.
Cummins’ SRH kick off their IPL 2026 campaign tomorrow against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In his absence, India batsman Ishan Kishan will lead the side.
