Former Australian captain Michael Clarke has expressed disappointment with Cricket Australia (CA) and the national selectors, saying they showed a lack of commitment in the recent One Day International (ODI) series against Pakistan.
Clarke’s comments followed Australia's eight-wicket loss to Pakistan in the series decider on Sunday, marking Pakistan's first home series win against Australia since 2002.
Speaking on his radio show, Clarke accused Australia of "not caring" about the outcome, pointing to CA’s decision to rest prominent players, including skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Steve Smith, and Marnus Labuschagne for the final match.
The former skipper said this decision likely influenced the series outcome and affected the team's reputation. "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 remarked.
Australia's approach, Clarke argued, suggested they were prioritizing the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a five-match Test series against India starting 11 days after the ODI series. Key players Travis Head and Mitch Marsh were also absent from the entire series due to personal commitments, with both on paternal leave.
Clarke questioned the logic of resting players despite the 11-day gap before the first Test in Perth. "I'm just a bit confused," he said.
"If Australia had won the first two games, then you can understand why they would rest their big fish, but it was the series on the line." He also highlighted the potential impact on fans’ interest in ODI cricket, a format already overshadowed by the rise of franchise leagues worldwide.
