“As of now, we will be certainly opening with Rohit and Jaiswal,” Dravid said. “But when you have a squad, you have to have that flexibility to do whatever is required if that is in the best interest of the team, and gives us the best chance to succeed. So nothing is closed. But certainly, we’re really happy with what Jaiswal has done as an opener for us, and he gives us a left-right combination as well at the top.”
Kishan ‘not available’; Iyer dropped
“Ishan Kishan was not available for selection,” he said. “Ishan requested for a break [while] in South Africa – which we which we agreed to, which we supported, [and] which we recognised – and he has not yet made himself available for selection. I’m sure when he is ready, he will play domestic cricket and make himself available for selection.
“And certainly in Shreyas Iyer’s case, there was absolutely no disciplinary reason for his non-inclusion. There were a lot of batsmen in the team, and Shreyas Iyer missed out. He didn’t play the T20s in South Africa as well, if you notice, and it’s unfortunate. He is a fine player, but there are a lot of batsmen, and it is not easy to fit everyone in the squad and the playing XI. There are absolutely no disciplinary reasons, and that was not discussed at all – at least in my discussions with the selectors when they were having these deliberations and discussions.”
“We know they have got some really good spinners,” Dravid said. “So it will be a good challenge for our batsmen. We have discussed about it as well – how to play and dominate their spinners. So it will be a good challenge, and we are looking forward to it.”
