PAK vs AUS: Former Australian captain slams senior players, here's why

Key players, including ODI captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, and Steve Smith, were all absent from the match

PHOTO: AFP

Former Australian cricket captain, Michael Clarke, has criticized Cricket Australia’s (CA) decision to rest key players for the series-deciding third ODI against Pakistan. The match, held in Perth, saw Australia lose by eight wickets, ultimately conceding the series 2-1 to Pakistan—marking their first home series defeat to the visiting team since 2002.

Key players, including ODI captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, and Steve Smith, were all absent from the match as part of a strategy to prepare for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Test series against India. This move was met with mixed reactions, particularly following Australia’s loss in the third ODI, which Clarke deemed a critical encounter.

Josh Inglis was handed the captaincy in place of Cummins, but the team fell short, leading to Clarke voicing his displeasure during a radio show on Monday.

"I’m just a bit confused. So 11 days between now and the first Test [in Perth], why can’t the Aussie boys who are part of this Test series play in the [third] one-dayer?" Clarke questioned.

Clarke, who led Australia to World Cup glory in 2015, emphasized the importance of the series decider, noting that it was a pivotal match with the series level at 1-1. He criticized CA for failing to prioritize the ODI series, which he felt was a significant event for Australian cricket.

“If Australia had won the first two games, then you can understand why they rest their big fish, but it was [the] series on the line,” Clarke pointed out, clearly frustrated with the board’s stance.

“You can’t expect the fans to want to come and watch one-day cricket. I feel like we obviously don’t care about losing that series. If you’re not going to care, we’re not going to care,” he added.

After completion of the fifty-over series, the Men in Green will face off against Australia in a three-match T20I series start from November 14th.

Pakistan T20 squad: Muhammad Rizwan (c), Abbas Afridi, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan.

T20I series schedule: