• Source:JND
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India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I: India's head coach Rahul Dravid turned down all the rumours suggesting that Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were overlooked for the T20I series against Afghanistan due to disciplinary reasons.

While experienced campaigners like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma made their return to the T20I side for the three-match series, Kishan wasn't included in the team as Dravid put a clarification on the decision, saying that the wicketkeeper-batter had requested a break due to mental fatigue which the team management approved.

He mentioned that Kishan hasn't made himself available for selection since then and might return to domestic cricket whenever he feels prepared.

 

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"No, absolutely not (disciplinary issue). Ishan Kishan was not available for selection. Ishan requested a break, which we agreed on in South Africa. We supported it," Dravid said in the pre-match conference ahead of the first T20I.

The first T20I match between India and Afghanistan is scheduled to be played at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Thursday, January 11.

Despite being a regular part of the Indian squad in the white-ball formats, Kishan only managed to play two ODIs and three T20Is between October last year and January in the combined total of 14 ODIs and eight T20Is the team played.

KL Rahul was preferred over him for the role of the wicketkeeper-batter in the ODI formats whereas the T20I matches saw Jitesh Sharma getting opportunities from the fourth T20I against South Africa at home.

However, Dravid did not rule Kishan out of the Indian scheme of things.

"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," said Dravid.

Iyer was also not included in the squad for the Afghanistan series, a decision which also fueled speculations of player indiscipline, but Dravid dismissed the rumors.

"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 the former Indian captain.

 

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Dravid said it was tough to accommodate all the players into the squad.

"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 playing 11. No discipline issues were discussed, at least during my discussion with the selectors," said Dravid.

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