Australian batting great Michael Hussey lashed out at the packed cricket calendar, saying that hosting a 5-match T20I series just 4 days after the ODI World Cup final has devalued the series as well. Hussey was also unhappy with the busy international cricket schedule, saying that it was “impossible” for players to play in all of the tournaments as well.
However, the five-match T20I series between India and Australia began on November 23, barely four days after they took on each other in the 2023 World Cup final. Meanwhile, six Australian players returned home after the third T20I in Guwahati to prepare for the next Test series against Pakistan.
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“I certainly feel like this T20 series has been devalued. It doesn’t cheapen the World Cup but it certainly cheapens this series,” Hussey told Sen Radio on Wednesday. “There would be a number of guys who were at the World Cup (for both nations) would probably be in their T20 teams. They got home to either prepare for a Test series or simply to have a break. This is certainly not the best Australian T20 team going up against the best India T20 team.”
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan are the only players in the current T20I series for India to have played the ODI World Cup 2023 for India as well. Hussey also showed concern about the amount of cricket played these days as well. Also, after the World Cup’s huge success, Michael Hussey believes ODIs should play a big role on the international calendar.
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“It’s just amazing how much (cricket boards) pack on a calendar to play so much cricket. It is physically and mentally impossible to play all of the tournaments that are going on,” he said. “I might be in the minority here but I think (ODI cricket) is a great game. It caters to so many different types of players (and) over the course of the 100 overs, the better team has more of a chance to come out on top. The last World Cup was a great advertisement for the game. There was some unbelievable cricket played. There were some stories to come out (of the World Cup) that will live for 100 years.”
