Pat Cummins to skip IPL 2023, Ben Stokes ready to play IPL next year
Citing a heavy international schedule, Australia’s Tes and ODI skipper Pat Cummins has opted to sit out of the next year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) season for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
“I’ve made the difficult decision to miss next year’s IPL. The international schedule is packed with Tests and ODI’s for the next 12 months, so will take some rest ahead of an Ashes series and World Cup,” Cummins wrote on Twitter.
I’ve made the difficult decision to miss next years IPL. The international schedule is packed with Tests and ODI’s for the next 12 months, so will take some rest ahead of an Ashes series and World Cup. pic.twitter.com/Iu0dF73zOW
— Pat Cummins (@patcummins30) November 14, 2022
“Thanks so much to @KKRiders for their understanding. Such a terrific team of players and staff and I hope I can get back there ASAP.”
Cummins has played the last three IPL seasons with Kolkata, and last year notably smashed a 14-ball half-century against Mumbai Indians in Pune, the equal-fastest fifty ever in the competition alongside India’s KL Rahul.
He first joined the franchise in 2014, playing just four games across that year and 2015, before a solitary season for Delhi Capitals in 2017. After a two-year IPL absence across 2018 and 2019, Cummins was snapped up again for a whopping Rs 15.5 crores KKR for the 2020 season, the (then) biggest ever cheque for an overseas player in IPL hory.
England hope for Stokes ODI unretirement
England’s white-ball coach Matthew Mott is hopeful that their star all-rounder Ben Stokes will reverse his retirement from ODI cricket and defends the 50-over World Cup.
Stokes is also set to put his name forward for next year’s IPL.
The boss. pic.twitter.com/p1oLRUQKZq
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 13, 2022
“He’s a three-dimensional player and he has so much to offer. In this team he was the glue – I think we have a lot of guys who can do extraordinary things but he was the player you knew that if he was in you’d win the game,” said Mott.
“When he spoke to me about his ODI retirement one of the first things I said was that I’d back any decision he made, but I said to him he didn’t necessarily have to retire, he could just not play 50-overs for a while. And I said: ‘You could always unretire,’” he added.
🎵 CHAMPIONES CHAMPIONES OLE OLE OLE 🎵 pic.twitter.com/58CI1hKxQl
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 13, 2022
Stokes was released from Rajasthan Royals in 2021 and, after that summer’s four-month break for mental health reasons, opted out of this year’s edition.
Mott lauds Curran
England white-ball coach Matthew Mott said that England all-rounder Sam Curran could become ‘one of the white-ball greats.’
Curran was named player of the match for his 3/12 in England’s T20 Word Cup victory over Pakan and was also player of the tournament.
Special times 🙏🏻❤️ pic.twitter.com/6IFQiGNgfQ
— Sam Curran (@CurranSM) November 14, 2022
He took 13 wickets, including 5-10 against Afghanan – the best T20 figures for e English bowler.
“There’s no ceiling for him. He’s a great player,” said Mott, speaking after England’s win.
“When the pressure is on, he just wants the ball in his hand or he wants the bat in his hand and he wants to try and win the game for his country. He’s been special.”
“Some of the overs he’s bowled – the pressure overs – have gone for a ridiculous five or six runs, when they could have gone for 14 or 15, and they’ve actually turned the tide of games,” Mott added.
“He’s going to be a very, very good player for England and could go down as one of the white-ball greats in my opinion.”
