Never pulled out after action, but Test cricket still No.1 priority: Pat Cummins

Australia Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins reacted to the new IPL rules by stating that he had never pulled out after an auction. According to the new rules if an overseas player pulls out after getting sold in the auction they incur a ban of 2 years.

In Short

• Australia captain Pat Cummins reacts to new IPL auction rules
• IPL is set to ban players for 2 years who pull out after getting picked in auction
• Cummins says that he has never pulled out of an auction before

SunRisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins reacted to the new Indian Premier League rules. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Cummins was asked about the new rule of IPL banning players for 2 years who make themselves unavailable after getting picked in the auction. Cummins said that he would not know anything about it, since he has not pulled out of an auction before.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has added several rules to the auction dynamics this year. One of the rules state that in case an overseas player does not register for a mega-auction, they will be ineligible to participate in the next year's auction as well.

Cummins reacted to the rule and said that they do present a new challenge because for him Test cricket and ICC tournaments for Australia are the main priority.

"I’ll work out in the next little bit what this season looks like. There’s a bit of a tweak in the rules, but I don’t know whether that would have affected me in the past, I’ve never pulled out after the auction. But it is one more factor to consider with the IPL. Test cricket is the absolute No. 1 priority, World Cups are right up there, and then I think you use them as your tent poles and work out what else makes sense around that," Cummins told Sydney Morning Herald.

The Australia Test and ODI captain led SRH to the final of the tournament in the 2024 season. Under Cummins, the franchise had a new aggressive, batting identity. Cummins was sold for Rs 20.50 crore in the 2023 auctions, the second-highest sum of money in the history of the tournament. SRH, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru were engaged in an intense bidding session for Cummins which helped him fetch a massive payday.