Fresh Twist In India A Ball Change Row, Report Says Ishan Kishan Protested Against...

India A players expressed dissatisfaction over the condition of the replaced ball provided during the final day's play against Australia A in their first unofficial Test, a report has claimed, even as David Warner and Ed Cowan have called on Cricket Australia to clarify what transpired. On the final day of the four-day game in Mackay last week, the umpires provided the Indian players with a different ball to use at the start of play.

The Indian players, particularly Ishan Kishan, were unhappy with the decision with the wicketkeeper-batter terming it "a very stupid decision." A report in Sydney Morning Herald said on Wednesday that the argument from the Indian camp was not about the replacement of the ball but the condition of the ball which was provided as a replacement.

"What has not been known before now is that the angst on show from India A, led by Ishan, was not because the ball had been changed," the media house said on its website.

"Instead, it was because the touring team were unhappy with the condition of the replacement ball: a drama, but not a major one, since umpires and players have debated the condition of replacement balls for decades," it added.

The report described umpire Shawn Craig for his "straight shooting" who was heard on the stump mic telling the Indian players, "You scratch it, we change the ball. There will be no more discussion, let's play. This is not a discussion, you will be playing with that ball." Kishan retorted: "So we are going to play with this ball…that's a very stupid decision." Former Australia openers David Warner and Ed Cowan have now called on Cricket Australia to clarify what transpired on the final day of the match at Mackay.

Warner, whose years-long leadership ban has just