"Feel like we obviously don't care about losing that series" - Michael Clarke questions CA after resting star players for AUS vs PAK 2024 3rd ODI

Former Australian captain Michael Clarke has hit out at the selectors for deciding to rest the first-choice players for the third and final ODI of the series against Pakistan. The retired cricketer reckons Australia didn't care about the fate of the 50-over leg.

With the high-voltage Test series against Team India looming, Australia decided to save the trip to Perth for Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. As a result, the hosts struggled across facets and crashed to their first home ODI series defeat to Pakistan in 22 years.

Speaking to Big Sports Breakfast, Clarke opined that there was no reason to rest the players, especially with the series on the line. He elaborated:

"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 one-dayer. If Australia had won the first two games, then you can understand why they rest their big fish, but it was series on the line. I feel like we obviously don't care about losing that series."

Pakistan's quicks Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain and Naseem Shah exploited the conditions exceedingly well in all three matches. Australia narrowly avoided a defeat in the first ODI and failed to reach 200 in the next two games.

"You can't expect the fans to want to come and watch one-day cricket" - Michael Clarke

With 50-over cricket already getting marginalized, the 43-year-old believes fans will lose interest if the players themselves don't step up. The World Cup-winning captain explained (as per the aforementioned source):

"If you're not going to care, we're not going to care. You can't expect the fans to want to come and watch one-day cricket. We are bagging one-day cricket, no one is turning up, hasn't got the interest."

Australia and Pakistan will lock horns in a three-game T20I series, beginning on November 14 in Brisbane.