Andrew McDonald reveals Australia’s big 2027 ODI World Cup plan for Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood

Australia are already looking ahead to the 2027 ODI World Cup, and managing the workload of their star fast bowlers has become a major priority for the team management. Even though Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will miss the upcoming ODI tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh, head coach Andrew McDonald made it clear that the long-term focus remains firmly on keeping the trio fit for the next World Cup.

Cummins and Hazlewood are currently involved in the IPL 2026 playoffs with Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru respectively, while Starc has returned home after Delhi Capitals failed to qualify for the playoffs.

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Andrew McDonald explains Australia’s long-term planning

McDonald said Australia’s management is carefully handling the workload of the senior fast bowlers because the packed international calendar leaves very little recovery time before the 2027 ODI World Cup.

“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 into their bodies to set themselves up to get all the way through to 2027. 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.”

McDonald dismisses claims of players picking series

The Australia coach also rejected the idea that senior players are selectively choosing which international series they want to play.

According to McDonald, all decisions are being made after discussions between the players, selectors and medical staff while keeping future tournaments in mind.

“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 with in 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,” McDonald told reporters on Monday.

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Pat Cummins still central to Australia’s ODI plans

Pat Cummins led Australia to the ODI World Cup title in 2023, but since then he has played very little white-ball cricket because of injury concerns and workload management.

Despite that, McDonald confirmed Cummins remains Australia’s first-choice ODI captain and will continue to be a key figure in the team’s plans for the 2027 World Cup.

“We have done this before also in 2023. The biggest difference is we’re four years older.

“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. They’ve been incredibly robust, a lot of those players, and a few have had a few recent (injury) pickups, so it’s something that we need to invest a lot of time into.”

Australia focused on keeping fast bowlers fit

McDonald admitted managing the fitness of Australia’s experienced fast bowlers will become even more difficult over the next two years.

The coach also referred to Cummins’ recent back issue and explained why the team cannot afford to take unnecessary risks with the skipper.

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“Pat’s still invested in the one-day team.

“It is just that we choose not to play him for the benefit of his body, and even on the back of what recently happened around his back injury, we know that that probably surprised us, so we know that we need to really make sure we manage him well to get through that, and to have the opportunity to bring that group together for 2027, and that’s going to have some incredible complexities to it,” he added.