Batsman expected to be on national duty during Twenty20 club event

Hussey unlikely to face state v franchise decision

Cricinfo staff

June 11, 2008

	West is best for Michael Hussey © Getty Images

Western Australia will always be Michael Hussey's first choice, but he will follow the rules in the unlikely event he is forced to play for the Chennai Super Kings in the Twenty20 Champions League. However, Hussey's availability for the lucrative tournament, which will include two teams from Australia, South Africa, England and India, is in major doubt due to his international commitments in September and October.

Australia will spend a month in India for a Test series following the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. "I'm a Western Australia boy through and through, born and bred, so if I'm playing a competition I'd probably prefer to play for Western Australia," Hussey said in the Sydney Morning Herald. "But if the rules state that I'm playing for Chennai, then I'm very happy to play for them as well."

Hussey originally thought he would be free to represent Western Australia, but Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, said the Indian franchises would get the first pick on players. "To hear something different seems a bit strange to me," Hussey said, "but obviously if that's the rules, that's the rules."

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