Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav finally made their long-awaited debuts for India in the second T20I against England. Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, took to Twitter in a playful mood to suggest that India had acted on his advice by selecting more players from the Mumbai Indians. This followed his earlier claim after the first T20I that an IPL team might actually be superior to the national side. Right before the second game, he tweeted, “I see @BCCI have taken the advice & got more @mipaltan players involved … Very smart move …”.
India struggled in the first encounter, posting a low score of 124/7. England made quick work of the chase, reaching the target comfortably while losing only two wickets.
Vaughan's joking tweet sparked a variety of reactions, including a sharp response from former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer.
Jaffer countered by saying, “Not all teams are lucky enough to play four overseas players Michael.”
By mentioning overseas players, Jaffer was referencing the IPL regulation that limits teams to four international players in their XI. Later, when the third Test was wrapped up in a mere two days, Vaughan criticized the playing surface as being of very poor quality, arguing that India's victory was hollow.
With both sides finding it nearly impossible to score, England was dismissed for 112 and 81, while India managed 145 and a tiny chase of 49 to secure the win. Despite the struggles, the ICC officially rated the pitch as average on Sunday.