Australia captain Pat Cummins stated that his squad will not be distracted by the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction during the first of the much anticipated five-Test series against India at home. The IPL auction, which will take place in Jeddah on November 24 and 25, conflicts with the Perth series opener. Since the first day of the IPL auction will begin following the conclusion of the third day of play in Perth, the broadcasters have made sure that the two highly anticipated events do not conflict.
Cummins on Vettori going to IPL auction
However, Daniel Vettori, Australia's assistant coach, would not be present because he was given permission to skip the Perth Test and attend the auction with SunRisers Hyderabad. Cummins stated that his team will be focused on the task at hand in the Perth Test and supported Australia's decision to permit Vettori to participate in the auction.
"Yeah, I think he is there in the auction. I don't think so (it will be a distraction). Dan has flown over there, but he has been here for the whole prep. Done all the meetings, done all the chats, watching it. We came to know that anyway," Cummins said in the pre-match press confernce.
"So, for the players, I don't think so. Most of these guys have been there in the auctions before. They know they can't really do anything. You are a sitting duck and seeing whether you get selected or not. It doesn't... doesn't make a difference to how we go about the first two days. It is not a distraction as far as I can see it," he added.
Ponting on date clash between IPL Auction and Perth Test
Due to the nine-day interval between the two Test matches, the date conflict may have been avoided. Ricky Ponting, the former captain of Australia, described it as the "worst imaginable scenario." After finishing their commentary duties on Day 1, Ponting, who will coach the Punjab Kings in the 2025 Indian Premier League, and Justin Langer, who is in charge of the Lucknow Super Giants, will depart Perth. Ponting also emphasized that the auction pool includes players from both teams, which may be a distraction.
"We for the last couple of months felt that it was probably going to be in the gap between the Test matches. It takes all the pressure off the players from both teams, there's a lot of players in both teams in the auction," Ponting told Australian media.
