The Australian national cricket team is planning big for the ICC World Cup 2027, and they have made their intentions very clear regarding their fast-bowling trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood. Despite injury worries and heavy workload, Australia wants this pace trio to lead their title defense.
India is still facing questions over the ODI future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, but Australia are sticking with their experienced core as the focus has now shifted to the ICC World Cup 2027.
Andrew McDonald confirms long-term planning for Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has now confirmed that they are making a long-term plan. Even though Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood have had fitness issues in recent times, the team management believes a smart rest and workload plan will keep them ready for the big tournament.
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Andrew McDonald was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au: “I think people look at the immediate games and go, ‘Well, why aren’t they playing there?’ But if you actually work back from 2027 and look at what we’ve got coming up, this is the last significant break that we get to invest in their bodies to set themselves up to get all the way through to 2027.”
He added, “We are planning for them to be there in 2027. I think there needs to be a lot of trust in what we’re doing to be able to get them there. It’s going to be a significant challenge, in particular for our fantastic (sports science and medical) team; they’ve done a great job over a period of time.”
Andrew McDonald slams ‘misconception’ over IPL 2026 stay of pace trio
Pat Cummins, Starc, and Hazlewood were criticized heavily for skipping the upcoming Australia and Bangladesh tours to play in the IPL 2026, but the head coach slammed this misconception.
The next year is going to be extremely tough for Australia. They are expected to play around 20 Test matches, including big tours like India, England, and South Africa, apart from home matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand and the 150th anniversary match at the MCG.
If they qualify, the WTC Final could be another key game. With such a packed calendar, Australia doesn’t want to push their star fast bowlers in every series. Because of this, Australia decided to rest their main bowlers Cummins, Starc, and Hazlewood for upcoming white-ball tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh to save them for bigger tournaments.
They have been in good form in the ongoing IPL 2026, and Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will also feature in the playoffs before heading back home. After the IPL, they will get an important break in June and July, which the team sees as a key recovery phase before a busy international season.
‘They don’t choose that’
McDonald believes that this is the last proper window to manage the fitness of their senior bowlers before the 2027 ICC World Cup, saying keeping them fresh is now the top priority.
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He explained, “I think there’s almost a misconception that the players are sort of picking and choosing as to where they play and which series they play in. These decisions are made around the management of what is coming up within the schedule—and they don’t choose that. We work with them on it … those players want to play. We just don’t feel like it’s the best time for them to play.”
Fitness management becomes the biggest challenge for Australia
The Australian head coach has stressed that they managed a similar situation back in 2023, but the big difference now is that the squad is four years older, and fitness will be the main challenge going forward.
McDonald signed off by saying, “I think we’re well placed if we’re fit and healthy. And that’s going to be the biggest challenge. How do we get the players through that demand? How do we manage them, in particular our fast bowlers? We are getting older, so that’s going to create some different management challenges.”
