‘Franchise cricket for some countries is more lucrative’: Pat Cummins bats for separate windows for IPL and Tests

Australia Test captain Pat Cummins has called for cricket administrators to consider separate windows for the longest format of the game so that players don’t have to miss out on one while playing the other. Cummins said that franchise cricket tends to be more lucrative for some countries and they don’t have windows like how Australia and England do for their players to be available for Test matches.

“Franchise cricket for some countries is more lucrative, more appealing than international cricket,” Cummins said in a video that was played at a summit hosted by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). In attendance were Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird along with Indian Premier League (IPL) owners, former top players, corporate leaders and officials from across the globe.

A Test window similar to the one for the IPL

The months of April and May are designated as the window for when the IPL happens. Even then, there was an instance of England players having to leave their franchises before the start of the playoffs as they had a home series scheduled against Pakistan in preparation for the recently concluded 2024 T20 World Cup. Cummins suggested designating a similar window for Test cricket, which would allow players to not make a choice between playing the longest format of the game and the riches on offer in franchise cricket.

“If I went and played franchise cricket, I could probably be away for a half or a third of the amount we are for Australia. In Australia you know Test cricket is from November to January and basically no other cricket is going to get in the way of us playing Test cricket then. If we can have specific windows for IPL but then also Test windows, that makes the decision-making for the players a lot easier,” he said.

England limited overs captain Jos Buttler, who was among the players who had to give the IPL playoffs a miss, had said during the series against Pakistan that no international cricket should clash with the IPL. “It’s my personal opinion that there shouldn’t be any international cricket that clashes with the IPL. I think that these games have been on the calendar for a long time,” Buttler said to Sky Sports.