After a hiatus of 18 months, Prithvi Shaw staged a comeback into the Indian cricket. Once hailed as the next Sachin Tendulkar, Shaw had a stellar start to his international career. But a few off-field issues and poor form forced him out of the Indian cricket team.
However, his consistent run in the domestic circuit was richly rewarded as he was named in the Indian T20I squad for the 3-match T20I series against New Zealand. Shaw has reunited with his U-19 coach Rahul Dravid. The duo had won the ICC U-19 ODI World Cup in 2018.
His rapid runs in the domestic circuit are one of the major reasons why Prithvi Shaw found his name on the T20 squad of India. However, we feel he might have to wait a little for his place in the playing XI. In this article, we take a look at 3 reasons why Prithvi Shaw might be benched throughout the T20I series against New Zealand:
1. The other openers are in sublime form
Both Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill who are India’s first-choice openers presently, are in the thick of runs. They have consistently mustered runs at quick rates and have established themselves as capable enough candidates to take the baton of the Indian cricket team forward. Thus, Prithvi Shaw has to wait a little more for his place in the Indian cricket team.
2. Hardik Pandya doesn’t like to tinker with the playing XI
One of the major reasons as to why Hardik Pandya was successfully able to guide Gujarat Titans (GT) to their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title in their maiden IPL season was because he backs his boys a lot. Even during his stint as the captain of the T20I team of India, he has backed players and doesn’t like to tinker with his playing XI. Prithvi Shaw thus has to wait for his opportunity. This was also reinstated by Hardik Pandya during the pre-match press conference ahead of the 1st T20I between India and New Zealand.
3. Prithvi Shaw might not be in the selectors’ radar for the upcoming World Cup
Even though the format is different, the Indian team selectors would want to give game-time to the likes of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan. Both these young players are likely to be drafted into the squad of the Indian cricket team for the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023. Thus they might as well retain their place in the team and make Prithvi Shaw wait for his opportunity.
Also read: Top 5 Incredible Knocks From Rohit Sharma As A Captain In ODIs
