India's Under-19 World Cup 2018-winning captain Prithvi Shaw made a comeback to India's T20I squad after a long wait of nearly 18 months but did not get to play a single game. Despite scoring big in domestic cricket, Shaw warmed the benches during the three-T20I series against New Zealand as Shubman Gill got backed for the opening role which he justified with his maiden T20I century.
Gill registered two disappointing scores in the first two games but silenced the critics with a record-breaking 126-run knock in the series decider. On the other hand, Shaw had a good Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022 season with 332 runs from 10 innings at an average of 36.88 including one century and one half-century. Also, he hit a record-breaking 379 in a Ranji encounter.
More than a month after not getting a chance, Shaw has revealed that coming back into the squad mattered to him and he is not disappointing about not getting game time.
“I felt really nice coming back into the T20I squad, to meet the players and train with them. I enjoyed that bit. Yes I did not get an opportunity but was given the chance of making a comeback, that mattered,” the 23-year-old told News24.
“It all depended on them, when to play when not to, but I respected that because probably they wanted to give the person before me a bit longer run. But again, I don't regret that. I will keep on looking for opportunities because I have a list of goals I want to achieve with the Indian team,” he added.
When further asked why he felt it took time for him to make this comeback, Shaw said: “I kept on scoring runs. I felt if that was not enough then I have to score more and more...then I scored 379. It was just my day and felt I will not let go of this opportunity. Sometimes it just tends to hit you that why I am not in the Indian team for so long despite all the efforts...but it's never too late.”
Shaw made his T20I debut in 2021 against Sri Lanka where he bagged a golden duck. He is yet to show his mettle in international cricket. He will have a chance to prove himself in upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. In the previous season, the DC opener scored 283 runs from 10 innings at an average of 28.30 including two half-centuries.
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