Australia can manage workload across three formats: Andrew McDonald

Australian head coach Andrew McDonald

With ever-increasing cricket across the globe, boards must protect their players from being burned out.

England's Ben Stokes bid farewell to ODIs to prolong his Test and T20 career. Trent Boult asked for a release from New Zealand's central contract today, meaning he can now pick and choose the series he plays in.

However, current Australian coach Andrew McDonald is confident that Cricket Australia (CA) are capable enough to manage player fatigue and workload going forward.

McDonald, in particular, spoke about Test skipper Pat Cummins, who is an integral part of the Australian team in all three formats.

Cummins is rested for Australia's upcoming ODI series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand at home but is most likely to feature in the T20I series in India ahead of 20-overs World Cup in October.

"You can't be everything to everyone and we've said that from the get-go. We'll manage our players on a needs basis and a priority basis. I think it's disappointing to see Ben Stokes retire. Could they have managed him through that? We feel as though we can manage our players through all three formats.

"But that will mean missing the odd series here and there and we've got to be clear on what our priorities are and at the moment the priority for Pat is to get his body right for the summer, the World Cup and the Test matches, and being the captain as well we'll probably err on the side of caution when it comes to big decisions." - McDonald told ESPN.