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[Saba Sports News] India head coach Rahul Dravid provided the clarity on Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s non-selection for the Afghanistan T20I series, quashing the reports, which stated that the duo have been dropped on disciplinary grounds.
As reported by various media outlets, the Indian team management was unhappy with Kishan as he partied in Dubai during a break that he took citing mental fatigue. Also, it was being reported that Iyer did not oblige to the management’s demand of playing a Ranji Trophy match at first, making them all the more miffed.
However, Dravid ended these rumours sharing that Kishan did not make himself available for the series, while Iyer’s exclusion is due to the tight competition within the batting unit.
“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,” Dravid said as quoted in the pre-match presser.
“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 added.
The first T20I of the series is scheduled on January 11 in Mohali. Rohit Sharma is returning as the captain, while Virat Kohli will be available from the second match onwards.