New Test skipper has 'at this stage' put his name in for the mega auction but he and some national teammates will more closely assess their options in coming weeks
Cummins eyes IPL amid hectic Aussie schedule
Pat Cummins is adamant taking part in the upcoming Indian Premier League will not overburden his already jam-packed 2022 schedule, but the possibility of the lucrative tournament being played under restrictive bio-security protocols could scare off others.
Cummins, whose most recent IPL contract was worth a record-breaking $3.17million (AUD), said Sunday after Australia completed a 4-0 Ashes series victory that he was "at this stage" looking to throw his hat in the ring for the upcoming 'mega-auction'.
His pace partners Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood could also attract seven-figure contracts, but Starc is believed to be one of a number of potential Australian IPL participants wary of spending more time in bubbles.
Venues and dates for the IPL are not yet confirmed but the tournament is expected to get underway in early April and go for at least eight weeks.
The deadline to nominate for an auction, in which the vast majority of players – Indian and overseas – will go under the hammer to franchises, is set for later this week.
One of a few first-choice Australian male players in all three formats, Cummins was recently appointed captain of a Test team that have demanding tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka across the next six months, while a T20 World Cup on home soil will also be played ahead of the 2022-23 home summer.
Starc, Cummins and Hazelwood (presuming he recovers from the side injury that sidelined him from the final four Ashes Tests) are all set to take part in upcoming white-ball internationals against New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
"I've signed up for the auction at this stage," Cummins told reporters on Sunday. "I'll probably have a bit more of a think about it before that auction date.
"At this stage, I plan to do the IPL.
"(I have) no advice for anyone else. I think you've got to be aware of (workloads), it could be a lot of time on the road, some people manage that better than others, you have to know what you're signing up for.
"It could be a long-ish winter but the last couple of winters have been quiet at home. The traditional tours are still a little way away, it will be bubbles for a little bit longer. Everyone has to be aware of it."
The big three quicks are likely to attract the most interest out of Australia's Ashes-winning group, though David Warner could again be hot property after being the recent T20 World Cup's player of the series while Steve Smith also featured in Australia's maiden win at the tournament.
Cameron Green, who has been tipped as having significant T20 potential and is fresh off a breakthrough Ashes campaign, is not expected to nominate.
Starc, who has not played in the IPL since 2015, has spent as much time in quarantine and bubbles as any Australian cricketer since the beginning of the pandemic.
He was one of a handful of top-flight players to take part in limited-overs tours of the Caribbean and Bangladesh last year, which preceded three separate two-week hotel quarantine stints before the men's Ashes.
The 31-year-old told cricket.com.au that he will now spend a week with his wife Alyssa Healy in Australia's women's Ashes bubble in Adelaide before the men begin their one-day international series against New Zealand later this month.
"I'm certainly keen to be playing the white-ball series (against NZ)," Starc told cricket.com.au on Saturday.
"I'll go from here to spend a bit of time with Alyssa in that bubble during her Ashes just to put the feet up for a week and watch that unfold, then we've got a couple of white-ball series before Pakistan.
"I'm certainly keen to play those. The body is feeling pretty good – I'm not too sore, not too many niggles."
Vodafone Men's Ashes
Squads
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Sam Billings, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Schedule
First Test: Australia won by nine wickets
Second Test: Australia won by 275 runs
Third Test: Australia won by an innings and 14 runs
Fourth Test: Match drawn
Fifth Test: Australia won by 146 runs