New Delhi, March 20 – Following Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc is also set to miss the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which begins on March 28, with Cricket Australia opting for a cautious approach towards its top fast bowlers ahead of a busy international schedule. Meanwhile, Jack Edwards has been ruled out due to a foot injury.
Cummins has not played competitive cricket since the third Ashes Test in Adelaide in December 2025, after being sidelined following the tour of the West Indies due to a lower back injury. He was subsequently ruled out of the remaining Ashes matches and the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup due to the same issue.
Hazlewood, meanwhile, was out for the entire Ashes series due to hamstring and Achilles problems. Starc, on the other hand, played all five Ashes Tests and the latter stages of the Big Bash League. However, Cricket Australia is managing him carefully due to his high workload in Test cricket over the past 12 months.
Cricket Australia is taking a cautious approach with its star multi-format bowlers, given that the Test team will play up to 21 matches in a 12-month period, including tours of South Africa, India, and England, before defending their ODI World Cup title in late 2027.
Starc (Delhi Capitals) and Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), and Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad) are expected to create gaps in their respective teams' attack at the start of the tournament. In Cummins' absence, Indian wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan will lead (SRH).
The availability of the trio will depend on their progress in their return-to-play protocols over the next few weeks, according to cricket.com.au.
Moreover, SRH will also be missing Australian all-rounder Jack Edwards, who has sustained a foot injury.
The 25-year-old all-rounder was signed by SRH for ₹3 crore at the last auction and was set to make his IPL debut this season. He was the only uncapped overseas player to be signed at the 2025 auction.
SRH will participate in the season opener on March 28 in Bengaluru, where they will face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have suffered a major setback with pacer Nathan Ellis set to be ruled out of the competition after being unable to recover in time from a hamstring injury, according to CSK CEO KS Viswanathan at an event in Chennai on Thursday.
Ellis has been revealed to have suffered a recurrence of the right hamstring injury he sustained in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.
Travis Head, Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, and Tim David are among the 16 Australians on the IPL rosters for the 2026 season.