NEWS
Follow UsAustralia selector George Bailey has accepted the fact that some of his players could leave the Pakistan tour in the middle and head of to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, which is tentatively scheduled to begin from the last week of March.
While David Warner and Mitchell Marsh - two of Australia's match-winners have been rested for the home T20Is against Sri Lanka, premier fast bowler Mitchell Starc has once again decided not to put his name forward for the auction.
Warner, along with the likes of Pat Cummins along with Glenn Maxwell (Retained by RCB) are expected to be acquired for a significant price, and Bailey has no problems if the players decide to play in the cash-rich league instead of continuing with the Pakistan tour.
"It's tough for the multi-format guys to work out that balance of where do they get time to physically replenish their energy reserves, particularly for fast bowlers," Bailey said.
"To make sure they are fit, strong and able to deal with the workload. But that's part and parcel of a modern cricketer's life. It (the IPL) continues to be a tournament that offers a huge amount to players.
"From a learning perspective and I don't think the monetary side of things can be discounted ... for a reasonably brief period of work, the paydays are pretty enormous for a certain percentage of them."
Bailey is of the opinion that the IPL gives his players the best opportunity to prepare to defend the T20 World Cup crown, which will be hosted by Australia this year. "That's a terrific opportunity," he said.
This will be Australia's first tour of Pakistan since 1998. The tour kick starts with a three-match Test series, starting March 3, followed by three ODIs and a one-off T20I.
Bailey also mentioned that no player has come forward saying that they are uncomfortable with touring Pakistan. He further added that the security briefings so far have yielded positive results.
"I believe the boards are still working through some of the minor details around that tour. Once that gets the formal tick of approval, we'll announce the squad," Bailey said.
"The two (security) briefings that I've sat in on, the security sounds very, very robust."