'It has been devalued': Michael Hussey slams timing of India-Australia T20I series soon after CWC 2023

India lead Australia 2-1 in the five-match T20I series at home, which kicked off only four days after the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 edition, also hosted by India. The second-stringed Suryakumar Yadav-led Team India will host the Aussies, who are also without some players from their ODI WC winning squad, in the fourth and penultimate T20I on Friday (Dec 1) in Raipur. Ahead of the penultimate T20I, former Australian batter Michael Hussey slammed the packed international cricketing calendar.

Talking on Sen Radio, on Wednesday (Nov 29), Hussey opined, "I certainly feel like this T20 series has been devalued. It doesn't cheapen the World Cup but it certainly cheapens this series. 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."

Australia is being led by Matthew Wade in the five-match T20I series versus India. While they have Steve Smith, Travis Head (who joined the playing XI only in the third game), Sean Abbott, etc. from the World Cup squad, they are without Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, David Warner whereas Glenn Maxwell only featured for the third encounter -- where he scoreda match-winning 48-ball 104* in pursuit of 223 in Guwahati.

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Hussey further slammed the cricket boards and mentioned, "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."

Hussey then shifted his focus on the relevance of the ODI format and stated, "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." He added, "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."

Soon after the India-Australia T20Is, the Australian team will kick off their home summer -- where they host Pakistan in three Tests starting on Dec 14. Meanwhile, India will leave for South Africa for an all-format tour, beginning on Dec 10.