With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) preparing a contract extension for head coach Rahul Dravid after the ICC World Cup 2023, National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief and batting icon VVS Laxman coached a second-string Indian side for the entire five-match T20I series against Australia. Under the leadership of new captain Suryakumar Yadav, a second-string India side defeated Australia 4-1 in the bilateral series.
India were without the services of skipper Rohit Sharma, ex-captain Virat Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah. Superstar Shreyas Iyer, who was rested for the first three T20Is, joined the Indian squad as Suryakumar's deputy for the final two encounters against Australia. Middle-order batter Iyer had featured in all 11 games of India's World Cup campaign at home.
While Iyer was roped in as the No.3 batter for the 4th and 5th T20I, India opted to release Ishan Kishan from its playing XI after the third encounter of the five-game series. Reflecting on India's performance under the watchful eyes of Laxman, former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja questioned the non-selection of Kishan in the T20I series. Star batter Kishan hardly featured in Team India's World Cup campaign.
‘Was Kishan really that tired after three matches?’
"There was a series right after the World Cup. Ishan Kishan played three matches and went home. Was he really that tired after three matches that he needed rest? He didn't even play a lot of games at the World Cup. He deserved his spot in the playing XI for the first few World Cup matches. How many Indian players have scored a double century on a good day? He can change the game on his day. When will he get ready? Will you keep him in on trial all the time? In the last two years, how many games has he played? This problem of Indian cricket is not of today, it is very old that we don’t select (players) but reject them," Jadeja told Sports Tak.
How Kishan performed against Australia
{{/usCountry}}"There was a series right after the World Cup. Ishan Kishan played three matches and went home. Was he really that tired after three matches that he needed rest? He didn't even play a lot of games at the World Cup. He deserved his spot in the playing XI for the first few World Cup matches. How many Indian players have scored a double century on a good day? He can change the game on his day. When will he get ready? Will you keep him in on trial all the time? In the last two years, how many games has he played? This problem of Indian cricket is not of today, it is very old that we don’t select (players) but reject them," Jadeja told Sports Tak.
How Kishan performed against Australia
{{/usCountry}}Keeping the wickets for India in the 3rd T20I, Kishan recorded a five-ball duck against Australia in Guwahati. However, the Indian southpaw kickstarted the series by playing an impressive knock of 58 off 39 balls at Visakhapatnam. He followed it up with a brilliant knock of 52 off 32 balls in the 2nd T20I at Thiruvananthapuram. Averaging 36.67, the Indian gloveman scored 110 runs against Australia in 3 innings. "Ishan Kishan didn't even play the entire five-match T20I series against Australia. He was sent home after three matches to rest. So, if this is going to continue, how will you ensure that he is fully ready?," Jadeja added.