Pat Cummins turns down million-dollar offer by Indian inter-city T20 leagues for Australia duty

Australian pace sensation Pat Cummins has reportedly been offered a whopping $1 million by Indian inter-city T20 leagues. The Aussie Test skipper has rejected the offer instantly as he gave more weightage to playing for his country over other lucrative cricket leagues.

Cummins already represents Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was one of the released players months before the IPL 2022 mega auction, but was bought back by the two-time winners for the 15th edition of the tournament.

These opportunities are huge and they are popping up more and more often: Pat Cummins

“These opportunities are huge and they are popping up more and more often,” Cummins was quoted by Fox News. “Playing for your country, international cricket at the moment is still number one for just about everyone, especially here in Australia, but we can’t just take that for granted."

At the same time, the report further stated that many of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s state associations are aiming to rope in international cricketers for their city-based local franchise leagues. 

The dominance of franchise cricket over international cricket has reached at the peak with the inception of the two new franchise leagues - the UAE-based (ILT20) and the South Africa's (SA20). The first editions of both leagues are scheduled to be played in early 2023. 

Another thing that needs to be noted about the two leagues is that many teams are directly owned by the IPL franchises and they have offered lucrative contracts to players urging them for participation.

Meanwhile, two of New Zealand's star players, Trent Boult and  James Neesham, have declined central contracts to make themselves available for franchise-based leagues.At the same time, some of West Indies' big names like Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have been criticized for neglecting national duties and preferring franchise leagues.