Daren Lehmann, the former Australia head coach, said Usman Khawaja’s batting looked “a bit flat” recently, and advised the batsman to go back to the Sheffield Shield to regain his mojo.

Khawaja was dismissed for a duck in the second Test against Sri Lanka, where the left-hand bat got an edge while slashing a wide delivery, and was caught in the slip cordon.

“The way he got out, was very unlike Usman Khawaja, it was a lazy shot. He’s not like that, he’s a better player than that,” Lehmann said in a conversation with Macquarie Sports Radio.

“He’s just looking a bit flat when he plays. He’s not as sharp early on as he was, say in Perth, when he got his highest score of the summer. He got the 70, looked sharp and ready to score. He’s a better player than he has shown, we know.”

Australia travel to India to take on the hosts in three ODIs and two T20Is after the Sri Lanka Tests. But Lehmann believes Khawaja should sit out of the limited-overs tour and compete in the Sheffield Shield to fine-tune his batting for the Ashes, which will be hosted by England from August 1.

“If I’m fair dinkum about batting him three in the Ashes, I don’t think you can take him to the one-day series against India and Pakistan,” added Lehmann.

“I think he’s got to play the four Shield games at the back end with the Dukes ball and get some form, and it’s one for the selectors to mull over.”

Arsalan Tariq Khawaja, Usman’s brother, was arrested in December, and Lehmann believed that might have also played a part in his dip in form.

“The family issues certainly would’ve affected him, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “When you’ve got issues going on with your loved ones, cricket takes [the] second string. We’re only playing a game.”