'Where is Ishan Kishan?..' - Former India player blasts selectors over selections made for Afghanistan T20I series

The T20I squad announced by Team India for the series against Afghanistan witnessed the comeback of veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, along with the inclusion of Sanju Samson in the 3-match series. While the return of the trio was widely appreciated, the absence of certain other players, including KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan, and others, left many on social media puzzled.

Now the former India cricketer turned pundit, Aakash Chopra posed direct questions on social media regarding the exclusion of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan and the return of all-rounder Shivam Dube. The ace commentator also commented that Iyer had been designated as the Vice-Captain for the 5-match T20I series against Australia and was part of the squad against South Africa as well. However, he now does not feature in the team against Afghanistan. Regarding Shivam Dube, the former India opener also said that he was in the squad against Australia at home but was not selected for South Africa. Despite this, Dube is back in the team against Afghanistan.

"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? Any news on his availability?," Chopra wrote on Twitter.

India to play three T20Is against Afghanistan

Considering this to be T20I World Cup year the series against Afghanistan is set to be India’s last international assignment before the World Cup. The 3-match series which is commencing on January 11, marks the Indian team's final T20I assignment before the T20 World Cup next year. Importantly, players not selected for the Afghanistan assignment can still secure a spot in the T20 World Cup squad if they perform well in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

India's Squad for 3 T20Is against Afghanistan: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.