Melbourne, Dec 7: Former Australian captain Steve Waugh on Wednesday warned teen pace sensation Pat Cummins against falling for the lure of IPL cash, saying playing for Australia should be his top priority.
"The priority has got to be playing for Australia, the baggy green is number one and everything else slots in underneath that," said Waugh.
"Obviously there's money to be made from the IPL, but I think as a young guy with his potential and his star quality, he's going to make a lot of money out of the game of cricket.
"And if his body is a little bit susceptible to injury at the moment his commitment has got to be playing for Australia first."
Cummins has announced that he would give his name for the IPL players' auction next season but Waugh said he should be cautioned about such a move by senior figures of the Australian team.
"The senior players, people in like Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer as the batting coach, these guys know the value and what it means to play for Australia and I'm sure they'll be in his ear," he said.
Cummins is currently nursing a heel injury which has forced him out of a large part of the upcoming four-match Test series against India starting December 26.
