With India naming their 16-man squad for the Afghanistan T20I series, it has led to a flurry of queries over the direction the team is headed towards with the world cup now just five months away.
The three matches against Afghanistan are India’s only T20I fixtures before the world cup. It’s likely that how the players perform in the Indian Premier League could become a basis for their eventual selection or exclusion from the T20I showpiece.
While the India squad saw the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after an a gap of nearly 14 months, the absence of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan has been questioned by Aakash Chopra.
Iyer was nominated as the Vice-Captain for the 5-match T20i series vs Australia. Was a part of the squad against SA too.Now, finds no place in the team vs Afghanistan.Dubey was in the squad vs Aus at home. Wasn’t picked for SA. Back in the team vs AFG.Also, where is Ishan…— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 8, 2024
Notably, Iyer was the vice-captain for the five-match T20I series against Australia that began right after the ODI World Cup. However, Kishan was rested after playing in three matches and he also opted out from the South Africa tour citing mental fatigue.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Chopra wrote, “Iyer was nominated as the Vice-Captain for the 5-match T20i series vs Australia. Was a part of the squad against SA too. Now, finds no place in the team vs Afghanistan. Dubey was in the squad vs Aus at home. Wasn’t picked for SA. Back in the team vs AFG.”
“Also, where is Ishan Kishen (sic)? Any news on his availability?” he added.
Deep Dasgupta was also a little surprised why the selectors went back to Rohit and Kohli given they haven’t played T20Is for over a year now.
The T20I series gets underway from January 11 with matches to be played in Mohali, Indore and Bengaluru.
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