The selectors have sprung a number of surprises in the India squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. The highlight of the squad is definitely the return of senior batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Both the players are set to play a T20I for Team India after more than a year. Their last T20I appearance came in 2022 T20 World Cup. Keeping aside the selection of both Rohit and Kohli, the selectors sprung a huge surprise by not including Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. While Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah are also not in the squad but they were expected to be rested ahead of the five-Test series against England.
However, the non-inclusion of both Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan has raised a number of eyebrows. Shreyas Iyer was India’s vice-captain during the T20I series against Australia in November and was also a part of the series against South Africa. Ishan Kishan was also a part of both the series.
Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer dropped:
While the selectors did not explain the reason behind Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan’s absence from the squad for India’s last T20I assignment before this year’s T20 World Cup, a report has claimed that both the batsmen have been dropped due to disciplinary reasons.
According to a report by Bengali newspaper Anandabazar Patrika, the selectors were disappointed with Ishan Kishan. The wicketkeeper-batsman was a part of the Test team for the series against South Africa but decided to take a break just before the series started, citing personal reasons.
The selectors later found out that the Jharkhand star was partying with former India captain MS Dhoni in Dubai a few days later before appearing in a popular TV quiz show. The report further claimed that the selectors are so angry that Kishan could miss out on a place in India’s squad for this year’s T20 World Cup as well.
On the other hand, Iyer left the selectors unimpressed with his shot selection during the two-match Test series in South Africa. They wanted him to play for Mumbai in the ongoing Ranji Trophy and thus decided against including him in the T20I squad.
Iyer was recently named in the Mumbai squad for their game against Andhra, starting on January 12. The report stated that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel has decided to deal with players who do not take Test and first-class cricket seriously with an iron hand.
