The emergence of a number of young talents has made the task quite difficult for the Indian team management to select a concrete eleven. Though a few fresh faces have been called up for the three-match T20I series against New Zealand, it is not that easy to accommodate them all in the same set owing to the fact that more than one player is there for a single spot.
Young opener Prithvi Shaw has returned to the national team after a long time thanks to his impressive show in the domestic circuit. He came under the radar following his mammoth 379-run knock in the Ranji Trophy. The Mumbai right hander was also in pretty good touch in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s. However, he failed to get a place in the opening T20I as India preferred to go with in-form opener Shubman Gill.
On the eve of the series opener in Ranchi, India’s interim T20I captain Hardik Pandya announced that Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill will play as the openers. However, he made the reason clear for the exclusion of Prithvi Shaw. According to Pandya, Gill was preferred over Shaw because of his exceptional batting performances in the just-finished ODI series against New Zealand.
Pandya explained, “Shubman has done really well. So he should get the opportunity first. Shubman will start because of the way he is batting, he obviously deserves to be in the team.” Apart from Shaw, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar and Jitesh Sharma failed to find a place in the playing XI.
The decision to sideline Shaw did not go down well with the fans as they expected to watch him play in Blue Jersey in the first T20I. They took to social media platforms to vent out their frustration. Numerous memes and posts criticising the BCCI as well as head coach Rahul Dravid surfaced on the internet.
Don’t think they have any more excuses left to not play Prithvi Shaw in the next match.
— Gabbar (@GabbbarSingh) January 27, 2023
Shubman Gill ko dusra Virat Kohli banane ke chakkar me BCCI isko Ahmed Shahzad bana dega.
ODI and Test suits him. Prithvi Shaw ko khilao yaar. Banda kam se kam ek format to deserve karta hai. #INDvsNZ
— Avinash Aryan (@AvinashArya09) January 27, 2023
Have always been saying this. Will always back this. Prithvi Shaw should be given a fair run over Shubman in T20Is. Players like him can change the course of game within first 6 overs only. He may fail, but he can surely win us some big games. What do you think?
— LOLendra Singh (@LOLendraSingh) January 27, 2023
Coming to the match, Winning the toss, Pandya sent the visitors to bat first and the Black Caps posted 176 runs on the board. Both India openers- Kishan and Gill failed on the occasion contributing just 4 and 7 runs respectively to the scoresheet during the chase. Among others, Suryakumar Yadav and Washington Sundar shone with the bat scoring 47 and 50 runs respectively.
However, it all went in vain as other batters failed to stay longer on the crease, resulting in a 21-run loss for India. So, the below-par performance from Gill and Kishan has been sparking the hope for Shaw to be included in the second T20I, slated to be held on Sunday at the Ekana Sports City, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
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