"I’m comfortable with the decision" - Pat Cummins defends selectors' call to rest key players for Pakistan white-ball series
Australia's Test captain Pat Cummins has supported the selectors' call to rest a few first-choice players for the white-ball series in Pakistan. The right-arm speedster believes focussing on limited-overs cricket after Tests is a big ask.
With the IPL on the radar, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood and Cummins have been rested for white-ball games. Among the players in the white-ball squad, Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis have IPL duties.
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The star bowler underlined that the players rested would use the time to recharge themselves after a gruelling Test series, as switching to white-ball cricket isn't easy. He believes the current environment of international cricket demands that they face the realities and prioritise accordingly.
Cummins said as quoted by news.com.au:
"It’s an opportunity to have a week’s rest after a pretty gruelling three Test match series. I think that’s probably been the main factor in the decision, as much as anything else. We’re playing three Test matches, 15 days of Test match cricket in 22 days that we’re over there. To then tag on some white-ball cricket directly after that is a pretty big ask, in what will be a really busy 12 months."
Cummins added:
"I’m comfortable with the decision; it’s the realities of playing cricket – three formats, 12 months of the year. We’re playing three Test matches, 15 days of Test match cricket in 22 days that we’re over there. We’re not flying straight out from Pakistan to the IPL."
The final day of the Test series is only three days before the first one-day international in Rawalpindi. As the 28-year old remarked that Hazlewood, Warner and himself won't be allowed to play in the IPL till the white-ball leg concludes on April 5.
"We're really excited; everyone is in a good place" - Pat Cummins
Cummins, the number one Test bowler, said that every member of the touring staff is satisfied with the security arrangements in Pakistan, given the extra layer of bio-secure protocols.
The New South Wales speedster said everyone is excited to tour the nation. He said, as quoted by The Times of India:
"We've got to a place where everyone is hopping on the plane is comfortable with where it's all sitting. It's been a really thorough body of work that the security and the logistics teams have worked through. And obviously the added layer of bio-security in these times as well."
"More than anything it's a really special tour. We're going to fly over there and experience something for the first time. We're really excited; everyone is in a good place."
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Australia haven't toured Pakistan since 1998, which the tourists won comfortably. Their upcoming tour starts with the first of three Tests in Rawalpindi on April 4.