Big names could be missing in Perth as IPL goes head-to-head with Test

Channel Seven could be without Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer for parts of the Perth Test due to a clash of commitments, and Australia could lose a vital backroom coach for the start of the blockbuster Border-Gavaskar series in a potential stand-off with Indian cricket.

Unless Seven and Cricket Australia can protect their interests against powerful cricket authorities in India, Ponting, Langer and Australia assistant coach Dan Vettori will likely be in Saudi Arabia holding a paddle at the IPL’s mega player auction in Jeddah instead of being at Optus Stadium when the first Test reaches its conclusion.

Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer have TV commitments which clash with the IPL.Credit: Getty

The latest battle between club and country not only highlights India’s power but also the increasing creep of domestic Twenty20 leagues into international cricket.

Not even Seven, in a seven-year, $1.5 billion deal with Foxtel to broadcast the game in Australia, is immune to the forces rapidly changing the political economy of the international game.

Seven says at this stage Ponting and Langer remain on their Perth coverage. But if they, as the head coaches of the Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants respectively, are required to be at this year’s all-important player auction, to be held on November 24-25, they will miss at least the third and fourth days of the Perth Test, starting November 22.

Last year, Ponting, then coaching Delhi Capitals, left after day three of the Perth Test to attend the auction, while Langer stayed through to the end of the match.

Dan Vettori is a key part of Andrew McDonald’s coaching team.Credit: PA

Vettori completed his duties with Australia before attending last year’s auction, held two days after the Perth Test finished.

Ponting, whose contract with Seven was recently extended, and Langer are the two most recognised names in the broadcaster’s cricket team.

Former Australia captain Ponting has stamped himself as arguably the finest pundit in the country with his tactical nous and capacity to read the game and at times foreshadow the fall of wickets.

Test great Langer is well positioned to provide insights into Australian players, having been their coach until only three years ago.

Vettori, the head coach for Sunrisers Hyderabad, is a trusted lieutenant of national boss Andrew McDonald since joining Australia’s set-up.

As of Wednesday morning, no decision had been made on whether Vettori would stay with the team through the entire Test or leave early for the auction, according to a team source with knowledge of the situation.

There would be an added edge this summer if Australia were to lose Vettori so he can honour commitments for an Indian domestic Twenty20 league while they were playing India. Australia have not won the prized Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 10 years.

Vettori’s deal with CA is different to that of McDonald, who has a full-time contract, as it requires him to be available for a set number of days. A priority is given to big Test series and white-ball tournaments so he can also perform his duties with franchises in the IPL and The Hundred in England.

The arrangement is a tacit acknowledgment of the global cricket landscape, where national boards must make compromises so they can keep leading coaches in their system and not lose them to the lucrative white-ball circuit.

While there is an IPL player auction every year, this one is particularly important as it will shape the fortunes for each franchise.

Every three years, teams must throw almost their entire squad back on the market, except for a small list of players they can retain, this year capped at six.

Ponting, in the first year of a four-year contract with Punjab Kings, has the biggest purse at the auction after retaining just two players.

David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell are among the high-profile Australia stars not kept by their teams who will be up for grabs.

Josh Hazlewood – who spoke last month of his interest in returning to the IPL – Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin are among those likely to be playing in Perth who will go under the hammer during the game.

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