Cricket Australia's confirmed three-match ODI tour of Pakistan begins one day after the IPL 2026 final, opening up a complicated player-availability picture that has already cost the touring squad several of its leading bowlers.
The series, played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, runs:
May 30 1st ODI, Rawalpindi June 2 2nd ODI, Lahore June 4 3rd ODI, Lahore
Australia's main squad is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on May 23, with the IPL regular season ending May 24 and the playoff campaign culminating in the final at Ahmedabad on May 31 one day after the opening ODI in Rawalpindi.
The overlap means that any Australian player still active in the IPL playoffs will miss at least the first ODI, and likely the entire series if their franchise reaches the final.
ODI captain Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), and Mitchell Starc (Delhi Capitals) have all opted to skip both the Pakistan series and the follow-up Test tour of Bangladesh in August. The decision, framed as workload management ahead of the home Test summer, was confirmed by Cricket Australia in late April.
Travis Head, who has been managing minor niggles across the IPL season, may join the trio in opting out, with a final decision expected in the days before the squad's departure.
The carve-out leaves the touring ODI squad reliant on the second tier of Australian quicks plus the all-rounders. Players at non-playoff franchises Mitch Marsh and Josh Inglis at Lucknow Super Giants, Cameron Green at Kolkata Knight Riders could be available for the opening match if their teams are eliminated by May 22.
Green's situation is complicated by KKR's late surge. The Western Australian all-rounder hit 32 from 24 against Bengaluru on Wednesday night and remains in KKR's first-choice XI, with the franchise's win over GT this week reviving their playoff hopes. If KKR squeeze into the top four, Green will miss at least the first two ODIs.
For the Bangladesh leg in August, the picture is cleaner. Players from playoff teams Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett, Ben Dwarshuis (all Punjab Kings), and Matthew Short (Chennai Super Kings) are expected to link up with the squad in Dhaka after the IPL conclusion. Punjab Kings, in particular, have been hugely reliant on the Australian contingent.
Newcomer Ollie Peake has been selected for the Pakistan tour squad, with Melbourne Renegades coach Will Sutherland backing the 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batter as "mature" and "level" in a recent Cricket Australia interview.
The scheduling clash has reignited a long-running tension between IPL window expansion and bilateral series scheduling. The IPL playoffs spilling into June a feature of the post-2022 expanded format has caused similar conflicts for England, New Zealand and South Africa in recent seasons.
For Australia, the bigger picture is the August Test series in Bangladesh and the home Ashes summer that follows. Cricket Australia's medical team has prioritised the workloads of Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Head ahead of all white-ball commitments through to October, which is why the trio plus likely Head have been ruled out of both Asian limited-overs assignments.
The ODI squad and final tour party will be announced in the days following the IPL playoff finals weekend.