Follow UsFormer Australia batter Matthew Hayden is unhappy with players missing the white-ball series against Pakistan to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
A few players have been rested for the series and among them, Pat Cummins (KKR), David Warner (DC) and Josh Hazlewood (RCB) will head to India to join their franchise. However, they will not be available to play in the IPL until April 6.
Hayden has called for a pay cut for those who miss matches for Australia. “When players are choosing not to play for their country it is a massive flag of concern for your high-performance set-up.
"I just don’t reckon it passes the pub test. The single biggest thing which ties everything together at that level is that you are all really keen to play for your country and if you haven’t got that, I actually question whether you have a high-performance culture at all,” Hayden was quoted as saying by The Australian.
“It just makes it so hard to build all the things you are trying to have like team values, principles, giving a s*** about your mates. I just feel Cricket Australia is being led around by the players lately and that has created a unique set of problems,” added Hayden.
Further expressing his disappointment, Hayden, who was among the coaching staff for Pakistan during the T20 World Cup, said, “You shouldn’t be able to cherry-pick when you want to play for Australia.
"It doesn’t make any sense to me. We all know how important the IPL is and it has its window and I know it can be difficult for players and administrators to operate within the confines of modern schedules, but I still think you can’t have your cake and eat it.
“If you are unavailable to play for Australia, there has to be some accountability. You shouldn’t be paid for work you don’t do and should have to salary sacrifice.
"People will say that I played IPL which is true, but it never had any effect on my availability playing for Australia. I couldn’t wait to play for Australia because I spent seven years where I couldn’t get in the bloody team,” concluded Hayden.
Australia kick start their tour of Pakistan with a three-match Test series, starting March 4. The IPL-bound players are expected to leave Pakistan for India after the third Test, which concludes on March 25.