Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has admitted that with the ever-expanding T20 cricket scenario, there will be some players who will move out of the national setup and move to franchise cricket in the next few years.
An army of Australian cricketers, including stalwarts such as Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, David Warner, compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and other global leagues, and a report in the Sydney Morning Herald said Australia’s new The head coach fears that some of the big names may be left out of the national setup to play in the lucrative league, adding that Cricket Australia (CA) needs to be ready to pull out.
“If you look at it closely, there will be some turnover in the next four years,” McDonald’s is quoted as saying in the report.
“When that is, you never know. The way players have looked after themselves physically over the past decade means they can potentially play. But whether they choose to play IPL Or international cricket or only certain formats to be discussed. Will they all go away at once? I would say it is highly unlikely. Some will surprise us how long they can perform,” said McDonald, who is in Sri Lanka for a month-long tour.
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The multi-billion-dollar IPL media rights are a reminder that the lucrative league will only expand and McDonald, who has coached the Big Bash League (BBL), the IPL and The Hundred in England, is mindful of the financial loss for the players. If they decide to play in leagues around the world full time.
However, he added that with large squads becoming the order of the day due to Covid-19, there will be many to fill slots in case some players leave the national setup.
“Covid has allowed us more exposure to players, bigger squads, so we have more players understanding, which helps bridge the gap,” he said. “And the way this program is, we’re not going to be everything to everyone at every point. So there will be opportunities for other players to come through – as we’ve seen with Ben McDermott.
“So there’s an argument that a lot of times if we push our players too far, they’re not the best performers anyway.”
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