India A vs Australia A: Ian Healy Questions India A’s Intentions Amid Controversial Ball Change in Mackay

Former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy has expressed concerns regarding a controversial ball change during day four of the first four-day game between India A and Australia A at Mackay. Umpires decided to replace the ball due to a scratch, leading on-field umpire Shawn Craig to state

When you scratch it, we change the ball. No more discussion, let’s play.

He also warned celebrity keeper-batter of ICT, Ishan Kishan about potential sanctions for dissent after Kishan criticized the decision as

Very stupid decision.

Healy speculated that India A’s complaints indicated they were attempting to gain an advantage, particularly as they prepared for a significant reverse swing session to put serious trouble on the Australian batsmen. He remarked:

When you see a team complain about a ball being changed, they were up to something. India A was gearing up for a big reverse swing session in order to get the Australians under pressure. Australia was chasing a small total and it just didn’t happen (for India A). The Australia A batters were oblivious to it. They just put their head down and performed really well,

Healy also criticized India A for skipping the post-match press conference while Australia A captain Nathan McSweeney attended one and took questions. He expressed his disappointment, stating

They just closed ranks and didn’t give themselves a chance to sort of say what they thought was happening. But I thought Cricket Australia was clinical, the umpires were good. If they are suspicious about the ball, just change it.

Healy advocated for McSweeney, who scored 39 and 88 not out in the seven-wicket victory, to open the batting for Australia in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test at Optus Stadium, starting November 22. He concluded by critiquing India’s preparations for the series, especially after canceling their intrasquad game in Perth and coming off a 3-0 defeat to New Zealand at home.