Warner among ‘cooked’ IPL stars on watch list

Australia is preparing itself to nurture a group of “cooked” stars through summer with Warner and Cummins the biggest concerns.

David Warner has led Sunrisers Hyderabad into the IPL finals but what will his efforts do to his preparation for the Australian summer?

David Warner and Pat Cummins are among Australian cricket’s greatest concerns this summer and it is likely they will number among the players who do not play every game after enduring a tough IPL campaign.

A tired Warner rolled up his sleeves and slogged his Hyderabad IPL side out of a slump and into the finals on Wednesday morning.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ Cummins has taken his $3m and moved poolside to sit out a secondary quarantine in the UAE with other Australians out of the finals. If the side Warner captains had lost he would have joined them. The plane does not leave until next Thursday.

Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson are also waiting for that flight when the tournament is done.

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Cricket Australia has sent a support crew to ensure everything runs smoothly and the redundant players get in as much training as possible.

Players are, however, reportedly “cooked” from a combination of the intense physical effort of playing in the UAE heat and the equally intense environment inside the biosecurity bubbles.

Saving Privates Warner and Cummins is an issue of the highest importance before next month’s first match against India.

In March 2018 a tired Australian side shamed itself in South Africa. A deep dive into the reasons for that event unearthed cultural problems in the halls of Australian cricket. It was obvious to some observers that the exhausted mental state of certain characters, but mostly Warner, was a contributing factor.

That summer a distracted Warner had turned up to one-day training in Melbourne having left his kit behind in Sydney.

Despite this Warner was left behind to play in and lead the T20 team while the rest gained some sense of balance by preparing quietly in South Africa. He then dashed over, shook off jet lag and fixed what was left of his energy on engaging in a series of bar room brawls with a South African team spoiling for a fight.

By that time Warner’s plight was not so much tracking Private Ryan as Kurtz in the Heart of Darkness.

The public may have little sympathy for players who have opted to take the millions on offer at the IPL but cricket must accept the reality that they have and that they will be exhausted.

What’s cricket to do: flog Warner, Cummins, Josh Hazlewood Steve Smith — and to a lesser degree limited-over specialists Glenn Maxwell, Adam Zampa and Aaron Finch — without regard to their wellbeing?

Hazlewood, who is probably deemed as being not so essential in the limited-overs formats, indicated he may have to skip some of that series against India to prepare for the Tests.

“You always want to be available to play for Australia whenever that is but if it comes at the expense of (preparing for) a Test series then you’ve got to weigh up those options,” Hazlewood said on The Unplayable Podcast.

“Cricket is cricket and if you’re playing one-day cricket, T20 cricket, at least the intensity is there and it’s about having those big (training) days.

“It’s a challenge, but we’ll see what happens.”

Hazlewood believes one good hitout in a tour match will see the bowlers ready but that exercise reduces any opportunity they have for rest.

Australian cricket has proved critical again to the success of the Indian Premier League. Four teams have qualified for the finals and all four have Australians in key roles.

James Pattinson’s Mumbai Indians, who have finished the home and away season at the top of the table, meet Ricky Ponting’s Delhi in the first final late Thursday night.

Warner’s Hyderabad side plays the Simon Katich-coached Bangalore outfit 24 hours later.

Ponting has only employed Australia’s ODI and T20 keeper Alex Carey in three matches.

Katich’s side has dropped Aaron Finch and replaced him with Josh Philippe.

On return the IPL players enter quarantine at Sydney’s Olympic Park and will serve two weeks separated from the rest of the squad. The team will only meet one day before the first game on November 27 at the SCG.

McDonald and Ponting will be available to assist with training.

When and how any player is allowed to return home to see their family remains a concern to all with suggestions families will have to quarantine before joining the Test side.