'I've made difficult decision to miss next year's IPL': Australia captain to miss IPL 2023

After a forgetful campaign in the T20 World Cup, Australia Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins took a big call regarding his participation in the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023). Cummins was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise last season but will not don the purple and gold jersey next season. Last year, Cummins had to cut short his campaign due to a hip injury. 

Why will Pat Cummins not play IPL 2023?

Taking to Twitter, Pat Cummins posted a message stating that he had to make the difficult decision due to a packed international schedule. He added that since Australia will be busy with Tests and ODIs for the next 12 months, he will take some rest ahead of an Ashes Series and World Cup.

The Ashes is scheduled to take place in June next year, while the ICC Men's ODI World Cup is set to take place in India in October and November. There is also a good chance Australia will feature in next year's World Test Championship final with Cummins' side currently sitting on top of the standings. 

Pat Cummins IPL career at a glance

Speaking of his overall IPL record, Pat Cummins played 42 matches picking up 45 wickets with the ball. With the bat, he has scored 379 runs with unbeaten 66 runs being his highest. Cummins only played five matches in the IPL 2022 season, in which he picked up seven wickets at a strike rate of 17.0 and a relatively disappointing economy of 10.69, as per his extremely high standards. Perhaps, the Australian star was more impressive with the bat as he smacked 63 runs, including a joint-fastest fifty (14 balls) against the Mumbai Indians. The knock saw Cummins equal the previous record set by India opener KL Rahul for the fastest half-century at the tournament. 

Who's in, who's out? A look at KKR's trading window ahead of Auction

The two-time champions have been quite active in the IPL trading window ahead of the IPL 2023 Auction. KKR has acquired as many as three players from different franchises for the IPL 2023 season. KKR traded in Lockie Ferguson and Rahmanullah Gurbaz from the 2022 champions Gujarat Titans. The Kolkata franchise also signed Indian pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur from Delhi Capitals. The announcement of the IPL 2023 retention list will be done on November 15.