Pat Cummins flags risk of players choosing franchise leagues over Australia duty

Australia Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has warned that their players might lose interest in playing for the national side, given the riches on offer in the franchise leagues around the world. Australia are set to take on Bangladesh in a two-match home Test series in August 2026.

As a result, most of the players won’t be able to ply their trade in The Hundred and earn a good amount of money in a three-week tournament. Cummins feels that Australian cricket has reached a ‘tension point’ and players’ priorities could change soon.

"The interesting point is, obviously a big Ashes series, all the main guys want to play that series. For example, during the Hundred this season we've got two Test matches against Bangladesh. All our guys that will play in that Test match have opted out of going to the Hundred auction but that's not going to be the case forever,” Cummins said in the Business in Sport Podcast.

"Some of our guys are saying no to half-a-million pounds for 20 days' work to go and play those two Test matches against Bangladesh. I think it is a tension point. At the moment our guys are so keen to play for Australia that they're happy to forgo that, but I don't think we can accept that that is going to be the case forever,” he added.

Tim David was the highest earner at the recent Hundred men’s auction with a deal worth £350,000 (AU$673,000). On the other hand, top Australian stars - Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Cameron Green and Travis Head - all currently earn significantly more than David in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Hence, there’s no denying that the fact that they won’t attract a similar amount in the Hundred auction based on their IPL market value.

Cummins further mentioned that though the current lot of players love to play Test cricket, it is not going to be the case forever, and Cricket Australia (CA) must adapt to that.

"I'd say if you're playing all three formats in Australia you are very well compensated. I'd say almost certainly if you played every other league you'd probably be better off in the short term. But our guys love playing Test cricket at the moment, but I don't think that's going to be the case forever. Someone else might have different priorities, so we've got to make sure that we adapt to that. We are starting to talk about longer-term deals to lock in the top-tier talent to Aussies cricket,” said Cummins.

Cummins’ comments come amid CA mulling over private investment in their domestic T20 competition, the Big Bash League (BBL).

Australia are already suffering from players choosing league cricket over international commitments, as Marcus Stoinis was not selected for two T20I series against West Indies and South Africa last year in the build-up to the T20 World Cup 2026.

Being an uncontracted player, he was allowed to go and play in the Hundred, where he earned over AU$400,000. Stoinis was later picked for the series against New Zealand and India, as well as the World Cup, which made him qualify for the CA upgrade and build on his earnings from the Hundred.

However, no such opportunity was given to Tim David, and two white-ball contracted players, Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell, whose CA contracts are not as lucrative as those of some of the top players.

To tackle this situation, Cummins has suggested that CA must revisit their player remuneration and give them a ‘little bit more leash.' 

Will CA privatise BBL?

"As Australian captain, something we speak about quite a bit is how do we make sure we've got our best Australian guys to choose from when we're picking a Test side or an ODI side. Because there is so much demand for them elsewhere. I think even the way we contract players and talk about whether we let players go or not has evolved a lot in the last five or so years. Because we don't want to lose them. So you've got to give them a little bit more leash than maybe previously you did,” Cummins said.

While the domestic T20 leagues of most countries continue to flourish with all the top players playing in them, every year, most of the Australian stars miss out on playing in the Big Bash League. Cummins, Hazlewood, Cameron Green or Travis Head were not a part of the least season.

Cummins and Hazlewood were injured, while the other two were rested after the Ashes. In fact, Cummins has played more games in Major League Cricket for San Francisco Unicorns (six) since his last T20I in June 2024.

Starc played five BBL games last season, which was his first appearance since 2014 in the tournament, but only because he had retired from T20I cricket. None of them will play the next season as Australia is all set to tour India for a five-match Test series.

CA is expected to make a decision on the privatisation of the BBL in mid-April. It remains to be seen if CA goes ahead with the proposal and whether it helps them to retain their home talent.