Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has revealed key reasons behind the exclusion of players like Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from the T20I squad for the upcoming three-match series against Afghanistan.
Ishan Kishan opted out of the Test series against South Africa, citing mental fatigue. Dravid clarified that the left-hander has not made himself available yet, dismissing reports suggesting Ishan was excluded due to disciplinary reasons.
Rahul Dravid Rubbished Reports Of India Dropping Ishan Kishan
Speaking to reporters on the eve of the first T20I in Mohali, Rahul Dravid shared the team management’s perspective on Ishan Kishan:
“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.”
Shreyas Iyer was designated as the vice-captain for India’s last two T20Is against Australia. Nevertheless, he did not feature in any T20Is during the South Africa series. Rahul Dravid explained this situation, emphasizing the intense competition among specialized batters in the Indian T20I setup.
He expressed that Shreyas was simply unlucky to miss out and clarified that there was no disciplinary reason behind it:
“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”, Dravid said. “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.”
Rahul Dravid also revealed that Virat Kohli was unavailable for selection for the first T20I due to personal reasons.
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