Wicket-keeping batter Ishan Kishan and batter Shreyas Iyer have missed out on selection in India’s 16-member squad for their upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan. The Men in blue will face Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series, starting January 11.

The Mumbai Indians batter was one of the notable omissions from the T20I squad, as the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj and Shreyas Iyer. Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma have been named as the two wicket-keepers in the 16-man squad.

Kishan had left India’s tour of South Africa ahead of the two-match Test series, citing personal reasons. Kishan was replaced by KS Bharat for the Test series, which India drew 1-1.

According to reports, Kishan was in the running for the squad, but the selectors wanted to give Samson and Jitesh a chance ahead of the T20 World Cup, slated to be held in the West Indies and USA in June.

With the return of Virat Kohli, Kishan’s chances of playing at his preferred spot of number 3 would’ve also taken a hit, another reason why the selectors could’ve decided to rest him for this series.

Meanwhile, Shreyas was also left out following India’s tour of South Africa. Shreyas scored 42 runs in the two-Test series, while hitting a half-century in the first ODI in Johannesburg.

Shreyas last played T20I cricket during India’s home series against Australia, right after the OI World Cup. Having missed the first three games of the series, Shreyas registered scores of 8 and 53 in the final to matches, helping India clinch the five-match series 4-1.

India’s T20I squad for Afghanistan series

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.

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