IND vs AFG: Ishan Kishan, Shreyas dropped off India team due to disciplinary action, Rahul Dravid clears air: In a massive revelation ahead of the India vs Afghanistan T20I series, head coach Rahul Dravid clears the air confirming that the non-selection of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer is not due to the disciplinary action against them. He further dismissed all the rumours of any disciplinary action against the two players.
Notably, the internet was flooded with rumours of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, after the two players were excluded from the Indian T20I squad for the Afghanistan series.
It was being said that Ishan Kishan was seen partying with MS Dhoni in Dubai and featured in a popular TV show after taking a break midway through the India tour of South Africa citing “mental fatigue.” The rumour added that the Indian selectors weren’t pleased with Ishan’s conduct.
While about Shreyas Iyer, it was gossiped that a senior personality in the Indian selection committee advised the batter to trace his steps back to the Ranji Trophy and hone his skills after his failure in the South Africa series. Iyer wasn’t happy going back to the domestics and hence to school him a lesson, the batter was dropped from the Indian T20I squad against Afghanistan.
However, rubbishing all such reports, Team India head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed that there is no such action taken against the two batters.
He asserted that Ishan Kishan hasn’t made himself available for selection yet since he made the request for a break.
“No absolutely not (disciplinary issue). Ishan Kishan was not available for selection. Ishan requested for a break, which we agreed in South Africa. We supported it. He has not yet made himself available. I don’t think he has made himself available as yet. When he is available, he will play domestic cricket and make himself available for selection,” said Rahul Dravid on the eve of India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I.
IND vs AFG: Shreyas Iyer didn’t fit into the side
He further opened up on the issue of Shreyas Iyer, who has also been dropped from the Indian T20I side. Dravid explained that the side is packed with batters and it is not possible for them to fit everyone who’s available.
“Certainly, in Shreyas Iyer’s case, there is absolutely no disciplinary reason for his non-inclusion. It’s just that he missed out. There were a lot of battes in the team. Shreyas missed out, he didn’t play the T20Is in South Africa, if you noticed. They are a lot of batters and it’s not easy to fit everyone. So, absolutely, there is no disciplinary reasons at all. At least I didn’t discuss such things with the selectors,” he said on Shreyas Iyer’s case.
Iyer was benched during the South Africa tour in the T20I series, despite being available. The middle-order batter do not have any extraordinary reportcard in the T20Is to make his case stronger either. Young Tilak Varma was picked ahead of Iyer, although, the move didn’t seem to work out well.
In the two innings played against South Africa, Tilak Varma could only score 29 runs at an average of 14.50. He got decent starts in both the innings, but couldn’t capatilise on it.
The India tour of Afghanistan 2024 is set to begin on January 11 in Mohali. The two teams will lock horns in the first of the three-game T20I series at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. The action will then shift to Indore and Bengaluru for the subsequent games.
For more details head to ICC’s official website.