Pat Cummins Suggests Specific Window For Test Cricket And IPL

At the ongoing MCC Cricket Connects Symposium at Lord's in London, Australia's World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins has made an innovative proposal regarding the future of cricket. He has suggested separate windows for franchise cricket, such as the Indian Premier League (IPL), and Test cricket.

In recent years, franchise tournaments have gained immense popularity. Due to the significant financial incentives, more and more cricketers are gravitating towards these tournaments. As a result, cricket boards are struggling to ensure that all players are available for international cricket, especially Test matches, putting the future of Test cricket at risk.

Pat Cummins highlighted that many players miss national team matches to play in franchise cricket. He said, "Due to financial reasons, franchise tournaments often take precedence over the national team for many players. In some countries, franchise cricket is more lucrative than international cricket. If I want to play in a franchise tournament, I would miss about half or one-third of Australia's matches."

To address this issue, Cummins proposed, "Australia's Test cricket is played from November to January. No one plays Test cricket the way we do during that period. If we had a designated window for the IPL and another for Test cricket, it would make decision-making easier for players."

Supporting Cummins' proposal, Johnny Grave, CEO of West Indies Cricket, said, "It could work in such a way that a Test starts in Sydney or Wellington. Then another starts in Kolkata or Dhaka, and the next one at Lord's or Kennington Oval. This way, eight Test teams could participate in four Test matches within 24 hours."

This proposal aims to streamline the cricket calendar, ensuring that players can participate in both lucrative franchise tournaments and prestigious Test matches without having to choose between the two.