All-rounder Mitchell Marsh has criticised the “outrageous” scheduling of the India-Australia T20Is that started four days after the two teams were involved in the final of the ODI World Cup.
Marsh was one of the five Australia players from the victorious World Cup squad who skipped the T20Is against India. The series began on November 23 with David Warner later pulling out as well. However, seven players from the winning squad stayed back in India, including Steve Smith, Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell.
Ahead of the third T20I in Guwahati on November 28, Australia decided to make wholesale changes to the squad, sending six of the seven players involved in the World Cup home. While Zampa and Smith departed before the game in Guwahati, Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis and Sean Abbott returned to Australia after the third T20I.
Travis Head, who followed up his hundred in the World Test Championship final against India with another ton in the summit clash of the World Cup, is the only member of the Australia World Cup squad to continue in the T20I series. He did not play the first three games, however.
Speaking to SEN Radio about the short turnaround between the two series, Marsh said there was a fine line between respecting the opportunity to play for Australia and having some downtime after a gruelling tournament.
Australia also played an ODI series in India ahead of the World Cup, which extended their stay in India to nearly two months.
“Yeah it was pretty outrageous for the guys that had to stay behind,” he admitted. “It’s a fine line because we’ve got to respect the fact we’re playing for Australia and it’s a series against India which is always really big.
“But there’s also the human side of it, the boys have just won a World Cup and probably deserve to celebrate for a while and get home to their families. It’s an interesting one. You’d hope there’s not too many of those series put on after big tournaments again.”
Marsh added tongue-in-cheekily that he celebrated on behalf of the players who stayed behind in India. “I celebrated for the six guys who stayed behind, I celebrated for them.”
Australia’s next assignment after the T20Is against India will be a three-match Test series against Pakistan at home from December 14, followed by a visit from West Indies.
