IPL contract ‘might’ have played part in Australia not sledging Virat Kohli, feels Pat Cummins

Michael Clarke, during his playing days, was quite the phenomenon when it came to controversy and earlier this week, the former Australian skipper ruffled the feathers of many an Australian cricketer as he accused the players of the Australian cricket team of ‘sucking up’ to India. Clarke stated that several Australian cricketers were scared to sledge Virat Kohli & Co. in order to keep their IPL contracts safe and the comments did not go down well with the incumbent members of the Aussie national side, including skipper Tim Paine.

Now, after Paine, talisman pacer Pat Cummins has responded to Clarke’s accusations and has revealed that a major reason for the Aussies toning down their aggression during the summer of 2018-19 against India was due to the build-up prior to the series, where both Langer and Paine had promised that the Aussies’ on-field conduct will be mellow and not-so-aggressive. Cummins, however, did not completely rule out Clarke’s statement and admitted that IPL contracts ‘might’ have played a part in influencing the actions of certain cricketers.

"I think probably a bigger factor was six months before leading into that Indian series the media and everyone commentating on the Aussie cricket team were pretty clear in their direction in the way they wanted the Aussies team to go and that was playing a little bit less aggressively out on the field," Cummins was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"I'd say that would have been a bigger factor than trying to win or lose friends out on the cricket field. But you never know, that might have been a factor for some players."