In the five match T2I series that India is playing with Australia, both teams have received and lost in terms of players. This has been aided by the fact that red-ball cricket has been accorded a lot of priority by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and CA (Cricket Australia), and is a major contributor to such shuffles.
Travis has been dropped off the team before the final two T20Is to compete in the Sheffield Shield to prepare himself to start the Ashes series. Sean Abbott is also given the opportunity to attend New South Wales in their next match Sheffield Shield. Kuldeep Yadav, an Indian spinner, will also go back home to play the second unofficial Test between India A and South Africa A.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra, in a video he posted on his official YouTube page, wondered whether Shubman Gill, who was under fire, could have been sent back to India with the help of Kuldeep.
“Travis Head is now out of the T20I series. He will go and practice with the red ball because the Ashes are about to come. Kuldeep Yadav has also returned home because he will play for India A against South Africa A, so that he can also prepare for red-ball cricket. I am wondering whether Shubman Gill should have also been sent back.”
Aakash Chopra
Chopra questioned why India and Australia were playing the T20I series if they intended to prioritize their subsequent red-ball duties.
“Josh Hazlewood wasn’t there already. Glenn Maxwell might become available now, but Travis Head won’t be there. It’s a strange series. It’s a bilateral series, but is it actually an important series? If preparations for something else are more important as compared to what is happening currently, it means this is not that important. Then why are they playing?” he observed.
The series is intriguingly set up, with India drawing up at 1-1 with a five-wicket win in the third T20I in Hobart. The fourth game is planned for Thursday, November 6, in Queensland.
