'Cannot do that': Shane Warne hits out at Aussie cricket farce
Shane Warne has questioned why Pat Cummins would need to rest after just two games so far this summer.
Australia decided to sit Cummins and fellow paceman Mitchell Starc out of the third ODI against India on Wednesday having already won the series 2-0.
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Starc had complained of a niggling rib injury, however Cummins was rested to manage his workload and will also miss the upcoming T20 series.
Speaking in commentary for Fox Sports, Warne expressed his disappointment that Cummins had missed a chance to represent his country after playing in the Indian Premier League recently.
“I’m a little bit disappointed,” Warne said.
“I know it is a big summer that we have and it is pretty jam-packed, but I don’t think Australian players should be resting after two games.
“Why are they resting? Is it because they played IPL? So they are allowed to go and play all these games in the IPL and then they need a rest because they have been playing in IPL.
“Surely playing for Australia is more important than playing in the IPL. So I would say you should choose.
“Either miss the IPL or you cannot miss games because you need a break coming off an IPL for an Australian game.
“It is a One Day International for Australia and you need a rest to get through the summer after two games.”
Warne said the situation with Starc was different after the left-armer opted to skip the IPL to prepare for the Aussie summer.
“I applaud Mitchell Starc who said, ‘I’m not going to go to the IPL because I want to have a big summer for Australia’,” Warne said.
“I applaud him for that and it is disappointing he got injured, but I don’t think Australian players should be resting after two One Day Internationals.
“When there is a summer coming up after two games and you are in form. It is about keeping that form for the rest of the summer.”
Starc expected back for T20s, Agar adds fresh concern
Starc should be fit for Friday’s first Twenty20 against India but Australia have a fresh injury concern in the form of Ashton Agar’s calf.
Starc sat out Wednesday night's ODI loss to India, with officials wanting to give a sore rib time to heal after Australia had already wrapped up the series.
The left-armer’s issue is not believed to be serious, and he could be fit to play as soon as Friday at Manuka Oval.
Agar pulled up limp while batting at the death in the 13-run loss, and while he powered on, he did require treatment on field.
The 27-year-old only came into Australia's team late on Friday, but is a far more permanent fixture in the T20 side where the hosts prefer playing two spinners.
“(The spin bowling) will be tested again with Ashton with a calf niggle for Friday,” Australia captain Aaron Finch said.
“Hopefully, (Starc) is right for the T20s, it's a bit of a little niggly back or rib injury that just hangs around for a little bit.
“Even a couple of days can have a huge impact on that recovery. Hopefully, he is good to go in a few days.”
With Cummins back in Sydney and rested for the last ODI and three T20s, Starc was missed with the ball on Wednesday.
Australia went for 76 runs in the final five overs, with Sean Abbott copping the most punishment with 1-84.
It proved the decisive period of the game, as India took what looked as if it would be a mediocre score to 5-302 through Hardik Pandya (92 from 76) and Ravindra Jadeja (66 off 50).
With the bat, the hosts then crumbled in their final five overs in reply, needing 35 from 34 balls before being all out for 289 in the final over.
with AAP
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