IND vs AFG: Revealed - Why Shreyas Iyer Wasn't Picked In India Squad For Afghanistan T20Is

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday (7th January) announced the strong squad 16-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. The series will begin on 11th January and will conclude on 17th January.

The headlines of the squad were Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returning to the T20I setup after 14 months long. The duo last featured for the team in the T20 World Cup 2022 and since then hasn’t played in the format, focusing on ODIs and T20Is.

Apart from them Sanju Samson also made a return to the team whereas Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, and Ruturaj Gaikwad were unavailable for the selection due to injuries. There were a few notable names missing from the squad and one among them is Shreyas Iyer.

The absence of Shreyas Iyer raised quite a few eyebrows because the batter has done well in the shortest format of the game. He last featured for the team in the format during the T20I series against Australia after the ICC World Cup 2023.

Shreyas Iyer played a great role in the series against Australia and helped them win the game. With a lot of talks of batter not being there in the team for the Afghanistan T20Is, the reason behind his absence from the three games has finally been revealed.

It is learned as per the reports in ESPNCricinfo, that Shreyas Iyer has been rested from the three games against Afghanistan. The batter is currently enjoying his time off in South Africa. He was part of the Indian squad for the ODIs and Tests against South Africa.

Shreyas Iyer had a great outing in the only ODI he played but didn’t have the kind of impact he would’ve wanted in the Tests. He played a few decent knocks but something better was expected of him. It remains to be seen if he is in the plans for the team for T20 World Cup 2024.

Apart from the development related to Shreyas Iyer, the reports also suggested that KL Rahul wasn’t considered for the selection. The keeper-batter also hasn’t featured in T20Is for the last 14 months and looks far away from making it into the team for the T20 World Cup 2024.

Another name that has been missing from the Indian squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan is of Ravindra Jadeja. He was vice-captain of the team in the T20I series against South Africa and bowled magnificently well. But he didn’t feature in the series.

In his place, Axar Patel has been included in the team. The all-rounder has been part of the team in the setup for a while. He, however, wasn’t in the team for the South Africa T20Is. Shivam Dube too has been recalled after missing the T20I series against South Africa.

IND vs AFG: India squad for the T20I sides against Afghanistan

Here’s India squad for the T20I sides against Afghanistan

Rohit Sharma (C), S Gill, Y Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, W Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar