Guwahati: Australian great Michael Hussey believes the five-match T20I series against India just after the World Cup had devalued the contest, adding that overkill of cricket was "physically" and "mentally" tiring out the players.
Just four days after Australia lifted the ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad defeating India on November 19, the teams squared off for the first T20I in Visakhapatnam on November 23. "I certainly feel like this T20 series has been devalued. It doesn't cheapen the World Cup but it certainly cheapens this series," Hussey, who has more than 12,000 international runs across the three formats, told Sen Radio on Wednesday.
With six Australian players returning home after the third T20I in Guwahati to prepare for the upcoming Test series against Pakistan, or to take a break, Hussey felt this certainly was not the best side competing against the hosts. "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.
"This is certainly not the best Australian T20 team going up against the best India T20 team," he averred. Suryakumar Yadav is the only player in the current team to feature in India's World Cup squad. Hussey also expressed his anguish with the amount of cricket being played these days. "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.
Following the grand success of the World Cup, Hussey said ODIs should feature more on the international schedule. "I might be in the minority here but I think (ODI cricket) is a great game. It caters for 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," he added.
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