Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are among a group of Australian players who may have to sit out Australia’s three-match ODI tour of Pakistan later this month, with the tour dates overlapping the closing stages of IPL 2026.
The Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed the itinerary on Thursday. Australia’s tour gets underway on May 30 in Rawalpindi, followed by the remaining two ODI fixtures in Lahore on June 2 and June 4. The Pakistan matches form the second segment of a white-ball schedule that started earlier with three T20s before the T20 World Cup in January. With the international calendar heavily packed, the ODI leg has been pushed into the May–June window.
After Pakistan, Australia are scheduled to move straight to Bangladesh for a six-match sequence—three ODIs and three T20Is—beginning on June 9.
In the domestic calendar, the regular season of IPL 2026 is set to finish on May 24, with the playoffs running from May 26 to May 31. Australia’s ODI squad is expected to depart for Pakistan on May 23, which creates a strong likelihood that players involved in the IPL play-offs will not make the trip. Cummins, Hazlewood, Travis Head, Cooper Connolly and Xavier Bartlett are viewed as almost certain to be unavailable, particularly because Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings occupy the top two positions on the points table. Hazlewood’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru are currently third.
Starc’s Delhi Capitals are placed seventh, while Cameron Green’s Kolkata Knight Riders sit eighth and could climb higher if results go their way in the closing weeks. ODI vice-captain Mitchell Marsh and wicketkeeper Josh Inglis are more likely to be available, with Lucknow Super Giants nearly out of contention for the play-offs. Matt Short is another name who could feature, with his Chennai Super Kings sitting in sixth place—Short has also been hovering on the edge of Australia’s ODI plans.
Even if individual selection is possible, it is understood that the Australian management would be reluctant to push Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc into either the Pakistan or Bangladesh assignments unless the selectors and medical team considered it essential for them to keep bowling after returning to the IPL late due to their respective injuries. Still, the argument for leaving them out may strengthen when set against the workload that starts after the summer: a stretch of roughly 20, possibly 21, Tests within a 12-month span, beginning at home against Bangladesh in August.
Cummins, who leads Australia in ODIs, has played just two white-ball matches since the World Cup triumph in 2023—both appearances coming in November 2024. If he misses the Pakistan and Bangladesh tours, his next ODI outing could be the tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa in September, a route that would line up neatly with a South Africa Test tour in October.
Head faces a similar situation as Australia’s opening batter across formats. He could be given a rest following the IPL to arrive fresh for the demanding run of cricket ahead. Green, meanwhile, continues to be viewed as part of Australia’s preferred core in all three formats, even amid questions about his current rhythm and role. The selectors may still see value in taking him to Pakistan and Bangladesh, where batting in spinning conditions—though in ODI cricket—could carry useful carryover into next year’s Test tour of India.
As seen during Australia’s earlier T20 trip to Pakistan before the T20 World Cup, the touring group could lean toward younger players, even though experienced options such as Alex Carey, Adam Zampa and Marnus Labuschagne remain available. Matt Renshaw is also in the mix, having cemented his place in Australia’s white-ball setup through recent form. Nathan Ellis is reported to be back to bowling after recovering from a hamstring tendon injury that ended his participation in the home summer and left him out of the IPL.
Legspinner Tanveer Sangha, promising Victoria batter Ollie Peake, and two uncapped spin-bowling allrounders—Joel Davies and Nikhil Chaudhary—have travelled to Brisbane to work with Australia’s coaching group this week. Additional training camps are expected to follow before the squad departs.
