Former England pacer Chris Jordan has alleged that he was subjected to "relentless" racist abuse after England were knocked out of the T20 World Cup by New Zealand in November.
The stand-in coach for the series explained the decision behind the selection, citing the preparation for the ICC Men's T20 World 2022 in mind.
Curran, a member of England's 2019 Cricket World Cup-winning team, had missed last season's BBL because of travel restrictions and quarantine rules.
Neesham scored an important 11 ball 27, which included three maximums and a solitary boundary striking at a rate of 245.5.
It was a thoroughly professional display by the ODI world champions as they bundled out Australia for 125 and then returned to overhaul the target of 126 in 11.4 overs to consolidate their top position in the Group 1 points table.
Jordan says they are considering taking a knee at this month's showpiece event.
Jordan was full of praise for his Punjab Kings captain, KL Rahul, who once again stamped his authority on the competition with a blistering unbeaten 98 off just 42 balls.
Morgan pulled Shami over the square to get off the mark with a maximum and there was no looking back.
Adil Rashid was the bowler who picked up the crucial wicket of Suryakumar Yadav.
The win over SRH helped KXIP jump to fifth spot in the eight-team standings with 10 points from 11 games.