Brett Lee accuses Cricket Australia of putting Pat Cummins at risk of another injury?

Australia lost third and final ODI of series against India by 13 runs at Manuka Oval in Canberra, thus failing to whitewash Men in Blue after having won first two matches comprehensively. Both sides went into match with three changes each. While Kuldeep Yav, Shardul Thakur and debutant T Natarajan replaced Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohamm Shami and Navdeep Saini in Indian team, Australia replaced Mitchell Starc, David Warner and Pat Cummins with Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar and Cameron Green.

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Brett Lee express his displeasure over decision to rest Pat Cummins 

As far as Australian team is concerned, David Warner and Mitchell Starc were forced changes due to injuries. On or hand, in an attempt to man Cummins' worklo ahe of Australia's T20I and Test series against India, right-arm pacer h been rested as he was coming back from playing in recently concluded Dream11 IPL 2020. w, former Australian speedster Brett Lee has questioned and criticised decision to rest Cummins.

While speaking to Fox Sports, Lee predicted that resting from final ODI wouldn't have been Cummins' call because he would have wanted to play like players always do. According to Lee, players shouldn’t be tired after a couple of games. Australian veteran, who was unhappy with his side's policy of resting and rotating pacers during his time, stated that more games he played, better rhythm he h.

Citing his own example, Lee said that if he h a week’s break, wher it be a break in tournament or wher he was rested, it was almost like he h got to go back and find that rhythm again. Lee furr said that re could be a guy who is carrying a hamstring injury or a little niggle, shoulder might be a bit sore, and best way to get m into ir best preparation is to have a few days off which is fine. However, he maintained that if y’re fully fit, y should be playing.

Lee's concerns come after Pat Cummins struggled with a series of injuries since his debut as a 18-year-old back in 2011. Cummins has been a sort of a late bloomer for Australia, emerging with a new fitness and training routine to become one of world's leing bowlers across all three formats. According to Lee, resting a fit bowler increases his chances of getting injured in long run, which could impact his career.

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Cummins played two matches in series and bagged three wickets at an aver of 39.67. right-arm bowler went wicketless in first game but went on to pick three in next one as he consistently bowled at 150 kph. Cummins who played in IPL for Kolkata h a poor start to tournament. But Australian returned to form during end phase of competition as he bagged nine wickets in his last four IPL games at a stunning aver of 12.56. Cummins IPL price was a stunning 15.5 crore INR, making him most overseas player in 2020 competition.

Looking at Cummins slowly getting into his groove, Lee opined that his confidence and pace are back and he expects that to continue all summer. Lee's comments come after Shane Warne similarly lambasted Australian team manment's decision to rest Cummins. Warne questioned if playing in IPL is more important for players than playing for Australia.

Shane Warne slams Australian team manment's decision to rest Pat Cummins 

While speaking on Fox Cricket, Warne said that he was a little disappointed with decision to rest Cummins. Australian veteran ackwledged that it is a big, jam-packed summer. However, he reckoned that Australian players should t be resting after two games. Questioning Australian team manment's decision to rest Cummins, he asked if playing in IPL forced m to take such a decision.

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An upset Warne furr slammed Australian team manment by saying that ir players are allowed to go and play all se games in IPL but n y need a rest because y have been playing in  tournament. Warne stated that players should start prioritizing playing for country inste of franchise cricket.

51-year-old also asked players to choose between playing in IPL or playing for country. He suggested players miss IPL games because y cant miss international games saying that y need a break coming off an IPL. Warne opined that it is a One Day International for Australia and you don't need a rest to get through summer after just two matches.

Meanwhile, India vs Australia 2020 tour w moves on to three-match T20I series.  India vs Australia 1st T20I will be played on Friday, December 4 at Manuka Oval in Canberra. live streaming of India vs Australia 1st T20I will commence at 1:40 PM (IST).

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SOURCE: BRETT LEE INSTAGRAM