With the advent of T20 franchise cricket, players have been targetted by franchises to play in different leagues to play for them all year round. The international cricket retirement of the likes of Nicholas Pooran and Heinrich Klaasen suggest that the threat is real. Many cricket pundits had forecast that players may opt to play T20 franchise cricket over international cricket. Now, a report by The Sydney Morning Herald claims that Australia's Test captain Pat Cummins and their destructive batter Travis Head were offered 10 million Australian dollars (approximately Rs 58 crore) each per year to play franchise cricket for them.
Currently, Cummins earns nearly Rs 26 crore from his central contract, captaincy duties and match fees. Head earns less them his Test skipper despite playing all formats.
The mind-boggling offer has led to discussions of privatisation of the Big Bash League (BBL). The Australian T20 league has been around for more than a decade but players don’t have huge salaries. Like England’s The Hundred, the influx of cash from IPL-related franchises will lead to a massive bump in players’ earnings and also keep players focused on Australian cricket instead of opting for lucrative deals offered to them.
However, Cummins and Head are not the firsts to decline an offer to play franchise cricket throughout the year. Reportedly, Jofra Archer refused a similar deal from the MI franchise in 2023.
Cummins, Head's current IPL salary per season
Before the IPL 2025 mega auction, Cummins and Head were retained. The fast-bowling all-rounder was retained as captain for Rs 18 crore. Head was retained for Rs 14 crore. Until and unless Cummins is relieved of captaincy duties, which seems unlikely, he is likely to get the same in next year’s IPL as well.
'You want to have every option available to you' - Head
Head did consider his options before making the Australian team his priority. He played in the IPL, followed by the T20 World Cup 2024 and the Major League Cricket (MLC) for Washington Freedom.
“I played MLC to get a taste of what it would be like to play franchise cricket,” Head told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I had IPL into a World Cup into MLC, so I wanted to see what it was like to basically play four months of franchise cricket.
“You want to have every option available to you, you want to experience things and understand how things operate. A lot of people are making certain decisions around the world, and it was a perfect opportunity for me to understand that and see what it was like for whenever the time comes for what I may or may not do in the future.
“Whether I could do it, whether I liked it, whether I was good at it. I hadn’t played a lot of T20 cricket for a period of time, so get back into that. It was a perfect time in my life [to do that], then that time moves past.”
“Currently I’m playing for Australia, and I don’t see a timeline where I can play anything [else] really,” Head added.
“The IPL takes a big chunk of things, and I want to commit, as much as I can, to Australia. I missed a tour in the West Indies for some rest, which I needed.
“Ideally, I wouldn’t want to do that, but in the current situation we’re in, we need to plan the year out. If I’m missing cricket for Australia, I’m not going to fill in games in the MLC or the Hundred [in the UK].”
Head on Klaasen leaving international cricket
“I spent a lot of time with Klaasen over a period of time while he was making decisions,” Head said.
“I don’t think there’s any written rule on what you should or shouldn’t play or what you should or shouldn’t give up. There’s an idea on what people should think, and what they should do. Playing international cricket is the pinnacle. A lot of people hold it so high in regard, but some people don’t. People have got to respect that there’s no one way to go about it.
“A lot of people would give their left nut to play international cricket, and that comes from someone who’s played a lot of cricket or someone who’s played none, who wants to do it. So when someone gives up that opportunity it’s ‘why are you doing it?’ But there’s a reason, and you’ve got to respect that.
“What’s happening in the world at the moment is people have opportunities to make those decisions, which we’ve never had [before]. So it’s hard to knock someone who is making a decision in their own personal state and trying to get job satisfaction. Fair play.”
Head will be seen in action against India in the ODI series, starting on October 19. Meanwhile, Cummins continues his rehabilitation. He is not a part of the limited-overs series at home against India and is targetting to regain full fitness for the Ashes 2025-26.