Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer dropped from India squad on disciplinary grounds?

Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer are both missing from India’s T20I squad for the Afghanistan series. Their exclusion from the squad has not been cleared by BCCI as the selectors decided against holding a press conference after picking the team for Afghanistan T20Is, which starts on 11 January. But the absence of Kishan and Iyer has raised a lot of eyebrows. Iyer just made his return to T20Is in December against Australia at home and Kishan had been a T20I regular, but to drop both players in the last T20I assignment ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup has come as a big surprise. Kishan had also missed the Test series in South Africa after he opted out to due to personal reasons and Iyer had a tough time in the series, scoring just 41 runs in four innings. A Bengali newspaper Anandabazar Patrika has claimed that Ishan and Iyer were excluded from India’s squad for Afghanistan T20Is on disciplinary grounds. As per the report, the selectors were unhappy with Kishan as he was seen partying in Dubai after opting out of South Africa Tests. It also added that Kishan may also end up missing on a spot for the T20 World Cup. The newspaper Indian Express has also claimed that selectors were unhappy to see Kishan partying in Dubai. “He told the team management that he has mental fatigue because he had been on the road continuously and wanted to spend time with his family back home. Instead, he chose to travel to Dubai and was seen partying,” a source told the newspaper. On Iyer it was reported that selectors wanted him to play in the Ranji Trophy after his shot selection became his bane in South Africa Tests, however, the senior batter wanted some time off and as a result, he was dropped from Afghanistan T20Is. Shreyas has since made himself available for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.