NEW DELHI: India’s head coach Rahul Dravid dismissed media reports suggesting that Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were excluded from the T20I series against Afghanistan due to disciplinary reasons.
Dravid clarified that during the South Africa tour, Kishan requested a break due to mental fatigue, which the team management approved. He noted that Kishan has not made himself available for selection since then and will return to domestic cricket when he feels prepared.

“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. 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,” Dravid told the reporters ahead of the first T20I.

On Iyer’s not being part of the series, Dravid said “he missed out due to lots of batters in the mix and these are fake (media reports).”
Prior to their exclusion, Ishan opted out of two Tests against South Africa citing personal reasons while Shreyas had a torrid outing in the series, scoring just 41 in four innings.