IPL put before national duties for four high-profile stars

The four highest-paid contracted Australian players in the IPL will be excused from national white-ball duties on the eve of the Indian tournament.

David Warner, facing months away from his family, was reluctant to tour Pakistan

Test captain Pat Cummins, opener David Warner, bowler Josh Hazlewood and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell — the four highest-paid contracted Australian players in the IPL — will all be excused from national white-ball duties on the eve of the Indian tournament.

The same four were also excused from last year’s white-ball tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh and most of them missed the T20 series at home against Sri Lanka.

They will not, however, be allowed to play a game for their IPL franchises until the last match is played by Australia in Pakistan on April 5.

The players have been given leave from April 6 and provided with No Objection Certificates by Cricket Australia.

The IPL is expected to begin on April 2, although there has been talk of it beginning as early as March 27.

Maxwell is getting married, but the other three are all being give a break before the IPL and are expected to return to Australia after the third Test against Pakistan, which is scheduled to finish March 25.

Mitchell Starc is also being rested, although he is not playing in the IPL and has played most series for Australia.

Selectors indicated that in exchange for the unexpected break for the three all-format players, they were getting a full-strength Test squad.

Warner was one who reluctant to commit to the Pakistan tour, which will involve oppressive security and biosecurity protocols, but eventually conceded to play the three Tests.

The opening batsman faces months away from his wife and three children.

Cricket has carved a hole in its calendar for the IPL, but the eight-week tournament has added two teams and is two weeks longer this year.

The encroachment of private club duties on national contract obligations has long been feared and appears inevitable as the IPL expands.

With the new rights broad deal expected to reach $7.5bn — double the $3.5bn paid by Disney for the current five-year deal — when tenders are floated, the tournament is only going to get bigger, richer and more difficult to accommodate.

Australia, like most other nations, has realised it has to be “pragmatic” in dealing with a tournament where its players can earn twice their annual wage for a few months’ work.

The issue is more acute for countries that cannot afford to pay their cricketers as much as Australia.

Hazlewood ($1.44m), Warner ($1.16m), Cummins ($1.35m) and Maxwell ($2.5m) are the highest-paid Australians in the tournament aside from Tasmanian Tim David ($1.5m), but he does not have a state or national contract.

Chief selector George Bailey was relaxed about the trade off.

“We’re pumped that we’ve got a full squad for the Test series,” he said “There’s no doubt it’s a pretty intense schedule for the last six months and even if you look ahead for the next 18 months, so its about working with those individuals, with the squad as a whole, to make sure you are trying to meet the needs of everything. This was a bit of a challenge this squad.”

Bailey dismissed criticism that players who missed the Bangladesh and West Indies tours and parts of the Sri Lankan series would now miss the white-ball element of the Pakistan series, but play in the IPL.

“We’ve worked really hard with our multi-format players over a long period, not just this series coming up leading into the IPL.

“One of the things we are really keen to ensure is we have our best Australian players playing for Australia for as long as possible, medium and longer-term,” Bailey said.

“So we are constantly working with them around their own personal situations to make sure they get what they need and we can continue to get what we need.

“The National Selection Panel will continue to be quite pragmatic about how we approach each series.

“I’m beyond excited about the fact we’ve got a full-strength Test squad. Pakistan is a place we don’t know a lot about, so to be heading off on a tour and not have a really clear-cut idea of what’s ahead of you is exciting

“I fully respect the IPL as a tournament. They are at the forefront of the evolution of the T20 game. It’s been a really important tournament for the skill development of some of our players, so it’s important not to underestimate that.

Five members of the white-ball squad have IPL deals, including Marcus Stoinis, who was bought by the new Lucknow franchise for $1.7m, and Mitch Marsh ($1.2m), who was picked up by Delhi, which is coached by Ricky Ponting.

Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff and Nathan Ellis were also named despite having deals with IPL franchises.

Matthew Wade is free to go straight to the IPL after being left out of the tour, which only includes one T20.