India's young turk Prithvi Shaw's omission from the India's squad for the forthcoming tours of New Zealand and Bangladesh took everyone by surprise on Monday, when BCCI announced the team.
India will play three T20Is against New Zealand starting November 18, before playing three ODIs against the same side. They then tour Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series and a two-Test series. When asked at a virtual press conference about the decision of not selecting Shaw, India's chief selector Chetan Sharma said that they are keeping a constant eye on the player and that he would get his chance in future.
Following the squad announcement, Shaw was evidently emotional and shared a cryptic post on his Instagram story. Posting a picture of Lord Sai Baba, Shaw wrote 'Hope you are watching everything Sai Baba.'
"We are basically looking for Prithvi (Shaw). We are in constant touch with Prithvi. He is doing well. There is nothing wrong with him at all. The thing is that we have to see whether the guys who are already playing and performing are getting their chances. He will definitely get his chance the away he is batting. Selectors are in constant touch with Prithvi. Whenever we are there in matches, we are talking to him, and he will get his chances very soon," said the chief selector of the Indian cricket team Chetan Sharma.
With the experienced batters being given a break, the likes of Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, and Sanju Samson will get another opportunity to display their talent. Many on social media, however, felt that Shaw also deserved to be a part of Team India’s white ball contests, which will be played after the T20 World Cup.
Shaw's last appearance for Team India came in July 2021 in the ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka. He has not played a Test match for the national team since the 2022 Adelaide Test.
Shaw has smashed 285 runs in seven innings for Mumbai in the ongoing 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at a strike rate of 191.27.
Senior batters Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul have been rested for the New Zealand tour, which will begin just a few days after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup final in Australia. Hardik Pandya has been named as captain for the T20I series against the Kiwis, while Shikhar Dhawan will lead the ODI side.
India's squad for NZ T20Is: Hardik Pandya (C), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), W Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik.
India's squad for NZ ODIs: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), W Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik.
India's squad for Bangladesh ODIs: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, W Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Yash Dayal
India's squad for Bangladesh Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav.
