Australia captain Pat Cummins has strongly denied claims that senior Australian cricketers could be considering skipping the domestic summer to take part in lucrative overseas franchise leagues.According to a report in The Age, a group of Australia’s leading players, including Cummins, may seek No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to feature in the 2028 SA20 tournament in South Africa if they are not offered salaries approaching their market value in the Big Bash League (BBL). It also said that Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc have received offers worth around $800,000 to feature in The Hundred this year.The original report highlighted the growing financial pressures on franchise cricket around the world, with tournaments such as the SA20 and The Hundred reportedly offering contracts significantly higher than what top Australian players currently earn in the BBL.He further suggested that Cricket Australia was exploring changes to the BBL structure, including the possibility of scrapping the overseas draft system, in an attempt to redirect more money towards Australian players.However, Cummins quickly shut down the claims after the story gained traction online. In a public reply to X, the Australian captain wrote: “Everything you have written about me in this SA20 NOC and The Hundred offer is made up.”Cummins previously spoke extensively about the growing financial power of franchise leagues during an appearance on the Business of Sport podcast. “Obviously a big Ashes series – all the main guys want to play that series,” Cummins said on the Business of Sport podcast. “For example, during the hundred this season, we have two Test matches against Bangladesh. All our guys who will play in this Test match have decided not to participate in the hundred auction, but it won’t be like that forever,” added Cummins. “Some of our lads are saying no to half a million pounds for 20 days’ work to play those two Tests against Bangladesh. I think it’s a tight spot. Our lads are so keen to play for Australia at the moment that they’re happy to forgive it, but I don’t think we can accept that it’s going to be like that forever,” Cummins concluded.
