MELBURN: Simon O'Donnell, a former all-rounder for Australia, is extremely upset with skipper Aaron Finch for saying that the team was "fatigued" during the defence of the T20 World Cup championship at home.

When reminded on sen.com.au on Monday that Finch had used the word "fatigued" before the tournament had even begun, O'Donnell said," That gets up my goat, that,"

O'Donnell said, scheduling should be thoroughly reviewed and addressed, especially when it comes from the team captain. In the month leading up to the World Cup, Australia played 15 white-ball matches; only Pakistan had a busier schedule.

O'Donnell also said that he was not pleased with the players entering the World Cup after participating in the IPL for two months and then using the justification of being exhausted.

"Given that the national team captain is making this statement just before the commencement of competition, I believe that the issue of the crowded schedule has to be further explored and resolved. That is already raising the white flag " We comprehend the causes and effects of such tiredness. They will undoubtedly consider this, but we cannot participate in events like these while also playing in the IPL and doing everything else we do that is not related to representing Australia in sports " People are placing a lot more value on external competitions than they do on moving up the ladder to play for Australia and skipping the IPL in order to be prepared for a tournament like this. I must admit that I don't buy into the excuse of exhaustion " he said.

Before the ODI World Cup in India the following year, O'Donnell said the team shouldn't make the same excuse because it is against the rules to do so when representing one's country.

"You are competing for your nation. You say, "We're quite exhausted," just before you compete for your country in a tournament. Simply put, it's wrong. I don't deny that they were worn out, but if they were, it needs to be rectified. You cannot now claim to be exhausted and enter the 50-over World Cup.

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