Cameron Green is excited about the possibility of going to the IPL in 2023 despite a warning from David Warner about the consequences of adding the world's longest T20 franchise tournament to a monstrous Test and ODI workload in the calendar year.
Green will enter the auction, and could well be at the centre of a bidding war after catching the eye of a number of the franchise owners in the three-T20I tour of India in September, where he smashed two blistering half-centuries, striking at 214.54 for the series.
But he will have nine Tests to play between now and the start of the IPL, including a four-Test tour of India just prior to the tournament. Australia also have a three-ODI series scheduled on the back of the Test series in India. Green is also contracted to play some BBL cricket for Perth Scorchers in the three weeks between the Sydney Test against South Africa, his fifth of the summer, and the first Test in India.
Immediately after the IPL, Australia will play the five-match Ashes in England and there is also the possibility they could play the World Test Championship final in England in early June. Australia then have a white-ball tour of South Africa in August prior to the 50-over World Cup in October in India.
"I think from an experience point of view, it's great," Warner, an IPL regular since 2009, said. "From a playing point of view, he's obviously got four Test matches and a few T20s [and] ODIs after it. So, look, 19 weeks straight in India... being your first trip there as well can be quite challenging from the heat perspective, the playing, the recovery. It's a different heat. I've been through that, I've played that, I've done the Test series and the IPL straight before. It is tough.
"Put on the back of that, you've got five Test matches in England. I think it's 20 days off before you go play World Cup. It's a big year. Glenn Maxwell did it a couple years ago, played the whole year, and was cooked come the [home] season.
"So, from a youngster's point of view, it's totally up to him. It's a decision he has to make for the longevity of his career. It's a big call for him as a youngster and whatever decision he goes with, you know, we'll respect it as players. But, ultimately, it's down to him and obviously with CA and I don't know what those conversations are."
Green has had those conversations with Australia's chairman of selectors George Bailey and coach Andrew McDonald, also a selector, and they have not discouraged Green from going to the IPL.
"I've had really good chats with those guys, and they're really open to me going," Green said. "Obviously you're going to a pretty cool environment where you're around all the best players in the world and the best coaching staff and you've got all the facilities to bat all day if you want to and really learn about your game. So, I think it's just a really good environment to learn about your cricket and hopefully a lot of things that I can take back with me and then share with the guys in Australia."
The selectors have an eye on the T20 World Cup in 2024 - Green's relative inexperience in the format was a major reason why he was not used more in the recent 2022 tournament in Australia. The 2024 IPL appears a better fit for Green from a workload perspective, given Australia have a lighter Test schedule and it provides a perfect lead-in to the tournament mid-year in the Caribbean and the USA. However, Green was confident about playing next year.
"It's going to be a really tough year - I don't think anyone's disagreeing with that," he said. "But it's just a really good opportunity. I think if you're playing all three formats, and the IPL, you're going to be learning a lot about your cricket. Yeah, you might get pushed a little bit with your body but I've got good resources around me to kind of get through that. You do everything you can to look after your body and have rest when you can."
Green had been considering a stint in county cricket in England in the winter of 2022 in between Australia's away Test series in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, before opting to rest after the attritional series in Pakistan.