Finally, after a long wait of over 17 months, Prithvi Shaw has been given a recall to the Indian team. The dynamic Mumbai opener who last played for India in July 2021 has been named in the squad for the T20I series against New Zealand.
Starting January 18, India will host the Kiwis for 3 ODIs followed by 3 T20Is. Shaw’s blockbuster domestic season, in particular, his recent record-breaking 379-run knock off 383 balls in the Ranji Trophy game against Assam, making him the second-highest individual scorer in the Ranji Trophy history, was influential in his recall to the T20I setup, from which Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are once again not included, just like the Sri Lanka T20Is earlier this month.
Prithvi Shaw has played only 1 T20Is so far in his India career
KL Rahul, the BCCI said, is on leave for family commitments. The openers from the Sri Lanka series – Gill and Kishan – are likely to start against New Zealand, too, but a change of mind from the team management is possible, to brew in the aggressive Prithvi Shaw, who, unlike Gill, Kishan, or KL Rahul, is known for his accelerated, attacking starts in the powerplay.
After his name was published in the BCCI’s squad announced, wishes poured in from all corners for the 23-year-old opener. Fans and experts were happy to see Indian selectors eventually give Shaw his due, and add some more dynamism and modern-attacking intent in the top order.
Prithvi Shaw took to his Instagram stories to share some of the congratulatory posts from his close ones:
Here are the screenshots of Shaw’s stories:
India’s ODI squad against New Zealand: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik.
India’s T20I squad against New Zealand: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Suryakumar Yadav (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Kumar.
