Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has quashed media reports claiming that Ishan Kishan was excluded from the Afghanistan T20Is on disciplinary grounds. The non-selection of the wicketkeeper-batter for the 3-match series, starting Thursday, raised quite a few eyebrows while the media reports added a new twist to the tale.
It was learned that Kishan’s repeated pleas for a break kept on getting rejected before he was finally withdrawn from South Africa Tests. He had made himself available for the Afghanistan series at T20Is against Afghanistan but was dropped because of the team management’s alleged mistrust of the player.
However, head coach Dravid cleared the air in the pre-match presser on Wednesday and said the left-hander will be back into the national fold once he makes himself available for selection.
“Absolutely not. Ishan Kishan was not available for selection. Ishan had requested for a break in South Africa which we agreed to, and supported that,” said Dravid in his pre-match press meet in Mohali.
“He has made himself unavailable for selection. I am sure when he is available (for selection), he will play domestic cricket (and come back). So that was the case,” the Indian head coach added.
Kishan last played for India in the third T20I against Australia at Guwahati on November 28, 2023. But as things stand now, the Jharkhand player will have to play out of his skin to return to the India tent. India do not have any more T20Is in their calendar ahead of the World Cup in June, and Kishan’s only chance to impress the bigwigs is the upcoming IPL 2024.
Similarly, Shreyas Iyer’s non-selection for the T20I series against the Afghans too had given fodder to the player indiscipline talks but Dravid denied the rumours.
“Shreyas Iyer’s case has absolutely nothing to do with any disciplinary issue. It is just that he missed out. There are a lot of batsmen in the team. He did not play in the T20s in the SA as well,” said Dravid.
“It is unfortunate because he is a fine player but there are a lot of batsmen and it is not easy to fit everyone into the squad or the playing XI. No discipline issues were discussed, at least during my discussion with the selectors,” he added.
Iyer will now return to First-class cricket as he has been named in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy squad for the team’s next fixture against Andhra, starting Friday.
(With PTI Inputs)
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