Ahead of the mini-auctions, Australia’s Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has opted to sit out of the next year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) season for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Pat Cummins took to his social media and announced the ‘difficult decision’ he made to miss next year’s IPL. He cited a heavy international schedule as the reason behind his decision. He wrote:
“I’ve made the difficult decision to miss next year’s IPL. The international schedule is packed with Tests and ODI’s for the next 12 months, so will take some rest ahead of an Ashes series and World Cup,” Cummins wrote on Twitter.
“Thanks so much to @KKRiders for their understanding. Such a terrific team of players and staff and I hope I can get back there ASAP.”
Check out the Tweet:
Thanks so much to @KKRiders for their understanding. Such a terrific team of players and staff and I hope I can get back there ASAP 💜💜
— Pat Cummins (@patcummins30) November 14, 2022
Pat Cummins has played the last three IPL seasons with Kolkata and last year he smashed a 14-ball half-century against Mumbai Indians in Pune. This was the equal-fastest fifty ever in the competition alongside India’s KL Rahul.
Cummins had first joined Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, playing just four games across that year and in 2015 as well, before a solitary season for Delhi Capitals in 2017. He didn’t play in the next two editions of the IPL, i.e, in 2018 and 2019. In the 2020 season, Cummins was bought back by KKR for INR 15.5 crores, which was the biggest-ever cheque for an overseas player in IPL history.
Off-lately, Cummins hasn’t been at his best in the shortest format of the game. In the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2022, he only picked three wickets in four games at an economy rate of 8.25 runs per over.
Talking about the busy schedule of Australia in Test format, it involves a Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India (February-March) and Ashes in England from June 16 to July 31 while the 50-over World Cup will be held in India in October-November next year.
