Michael Hussey baffled over ‘devalued’ IND vs. AUS T20Is.
Team India is taking on Australia in a five-match T20I series at home, with India leading 2-1 in three matches till now. The series began last Thursday, merely three days after the 2023 World Cup final, where India had faced a crushing defeat to Australia. Interestingly, many Aussie players who were part of the World Cup squad stayed back for the T20I series; for India, Suryakumar Yadav was named the captain, while Ishan Kishan and Prasidh Krishna also continued to remain in action post-World Cup.
The timing of the series didn't sit well with former cricketers and Michael Vaughan, who is the former England captain, as he had criticised the same. Now, former Australia star Michael Hussey has also strongly spoken against the timing of the bilateral series, stating that it is “cheapening” the value of what could've been a high-intensity competition.
Hussey said, “It doesn’t cheapen the World Cup, but it certainly cheapens this series.”
He had further said that “there would be a number of guys who were at the World Cup for both nations who would probably be in their T20 teams. They got home to either prepare for a test series or simply to have a break. It’s just amazing how much cricket boards pack on a calendar to play so much cricket.
He also said that "it is physically and mentally impossible to play all of the tournaments that are going on. This is certainly not the best Australian T20 team going up against the best Indian T20 team. I certainly feel like this T20 series has been devalued.”