IND vs AFG: Aakash Chopra raises concern over 'disappeared' India star - 'Don't even know where he is'

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IND vs AFG: Ahead of the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has questioned the disappearance of Umran Malik who last played for India in July 2023.

Umran Malik wasn't picked in the India squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan. The 24-year-old Jammu and Kashmir pace also did not feature in the T20I squad against Australia and South Africa after the World Cup 2023. He was also not part of the India A team which played in South Africa recently.

Aakash Chopra said that Umran Malik looked set to feature in India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad at one stage, but has been ignored all of a sudden.

"Till some time back, Umran Malik was everywhere. We took him to the West Indies as well and it seemed like he could be in the World Cup team too but now he is not there in any of the teams. He doesn't even get selected for India A," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"What happened within three months that a guy first gets selected for the Indian team, gets very minimum chances there, and then goes totally missing? We don't even know where Umran Malik is. Why isn't he there? We should know why this is happening," he added.

Umran registered impressive figures of 2/9 in 2.1 overs in his last T20I against New Zealand in February 2023. However, he had a forgettable IPL 2023 season where he picked just five wickets in eight matches at an average of 43.40 and an economy rate of 10.85.

He was ineffective in the first two ODIs against West Indies as well. He went wicketless as he bowled six overs across the two games and gave away 44 runs.

IND vs AFG: 'What will you tell Shreyas Iyer' - Aakash Chopra

Further, the former opener questioned the omission of Shreyas Iyer for the India squad for Afghanistan T20Is. Shreyas Iyer had an excellent run in the World Cup 2023.

He was rested for the first first three T20Is against Australia after the ICC event, and named in the squad as vice-captain for the last two games. He hit a match-winning fifty in the fifth T20I. He was part of the squad for South Africa T20Is, but did not get a game to play.

"When I look at the recent selection, I see Shreyas Iyer. There was a five-match series immediately after the World Cup, so he was rested for the first two or three matches but then he joined the team as a vice-captain. He scored a fifty in the last match against Australia as well. It was a match-winning knock."

"Then he went to South Africa as well but now he is not in the team. Why is he not there? If he was a part of your team, what happened to him now, suddenly? What will you tell Shreyas Iyer, that why hasn't he been picked?"

Sanju Samson has been brought back in the India T20I squad for the Afghanistan series. Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya are out with injuries, while Ishan Kishan has also failed to make the cut.

India squad vs Afghanistan: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar