Pat Cummins said he prioritized being physically and mentally “fresh” when he decided to forgo the IPL in favor of the World Cup, which is less than a year away. Cummins is getting ready to take charge of Australia’s ODI team amid a demanding schedule marked by the World Cup.
Cummins estimated that he will play more than 100 days of international cricket over the following 12 months while juggling his captaincy of the Test and ODI teams.
On Wednesday, Cummins, a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders team, informed reporters. “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. Straight after the IPL, there are six Test matches, hopefully, we make the World Test Championship final. I was depleted after the last Ashes (in England) in 2019, so I just want to be going there as fresh as I can be.”
After overcoming gastroenteritis, Cummins will lead Australia in the ODI match against England on Thursday in Adelaide. The three-game set has been criticized as meaningless given that England just won the T20 World Cup and that Australia has upcoming home Test series against the West Indies and South Africa before a busy 2023 that includes Test trips of India and England.
Although the series has, as was expected, received little attention, it serves as Australia’s official start to preparations for the 2023 ODI World Cup against the current champions.
He added, “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.”