&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "IPL over Country? Travis Head, Aussie pace trio unlikely for Pakistan ODIs amid schedule clash")
Australia could likely be without their star pace trio, including ODI captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, for their away three-match One-Day series against Pakistan, starting May 30 in Rawalpindi. Continuation of the white-ball leg, which consisted of three T20Is ahead of the T20 World Cup, Australia could field their second-string side, with all-format opener Travis Head and all-rounder Cameron Green also among those likely to be rested after IPL 2026. With PCB confirming the ODI series dates, which clash with IPL playoffs and the finale, IPL-bound Aussie players would stay back with their respective franchises.
The three ODIs will be played on May 30, June 2 and 4, with Lahore hosting the final two One-Dayers. Australia will then travel to Bangladesh for three ODIs and as many T20Is.
Also read | IPL 2026, SRH vs PBKS: Hyderabad hit top form ahead of Playoffs, topple Punjab to lead points table
The IPL 2026 league stage ends on May 24, with the playoffs set to run from May 26 to May 31 (the final’s date). Australia’s ODI squad will travel to Pakistan on May 23, and those part of the IPL 2026 playoffs would unlikely be part of that tour.
Cummins, Hazlewood, Head, Cooper Connolly and Xavier Bartlett are almost unlikely to be part of the ODI team as their respective IPL sides, SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), sit first and second on the points table and are likely to qualify for the next round. Hazlewood’s RCB is third on the table and also highly likely to seal a playoff spot.
While Starc’s Delhi Capitals have struggled thus far, sitting in seventh, Green’s Kolkata Knight Riders are more or less out of the playoff race. Australia’s ODI vice-captain and opener Mitchell Marsh and keeper-batter Josh Inglis play for Lucknow Super Giants, another team almost out of the playoff race. All-rounder Matthew Short is another name who could miss out on playing in the IPL playoffs, with his team (CSK) lingering in the bottom half of the points table (sixth place).
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Meanwhile, regardless of anyone’s availability or unavailability, Cricket Australia (CA) is considering the draining home season, which starts with the Bangladesh Tests in August. The board wants to keep its pace attack fresh for a potential 21 Tests in the next 12 months, while also considering Head and Green’s fitness and rest time, as both are all-format players.
Among those in contention to make up for the first-team players are Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey and Nathan Ellis, who has resumed bowling after suffering a hamstring tendon injury. Tanveer Sangha, Victorian batter Ollie Peake and uncapped spin-bowling all-rounders Joel Davies and Nikhil Chaudhary have also travelled to Brisbane to train with the Australian coaching staff, with more camps scheduled before the ODI team departs.
