Prithvi Shaw has returned to the Indian team after a year. However, the skipper of the Indian T20I team for the New Zealand series, Hardik Pandya has informed that the right-handed batsman will have to wait for his chance, confirming that he will not play in the first T20I against New Zealand on Friday (January 26). Will play Pandya suggested that the openers would be Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, who deserved their chances to play in the absence of skipper Rohit Sharma.
Pandya said, ‘Shaw will have to wait for the opportunity because Gill has done very well and he was already a part of the T20 team.’ (Watch: MS Dhoni meets Team India ahead of IND vs NZ 1st T20I, video goes viral)
Notably, Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan played all three T20Is against Sri Lanka ahead of the ODI series against new zealand And will keep his position.
Prithvi Shaw is one of the explosive batsmen in the country but his absence from the Men in Blue will make him wait for an opportunity. Gill has been in scintillating form in the ODI format and considering the consistency he has shown so far, he deserves a chance in the shorter format as well. (Also Read: India vs New Zealand 1st T20I Tickets Sold Out For MS Dhoni Pavilion And Other Stands At Ranchi Stadium)
Hardik Pandya confirms that Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill will open tomorrow. Prithvi Shaw will have to wait. (Reported by PTI). – Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 26, 2023
The other is Ishan Kishan, who will keep wicket for India, and Shaw’s inclusion could mean he will have to change his first-choice batting line-up with India also having to compromise on a left- and right-arm combination. Rahul Tripathi has also done well enough to cement his spot at No.3 while Suryakumar Yadav is irreplaceable at the moment, followed by Deepak Hooda and Washington Sundar who are also waiting to get their chance to showcase their batting skills .
Pandya, who is playing a vital role as an all-rounder for the Indian team, said that he enjoys bowling with the new ball and does not feel the pressure while bowling because of his good preparation for the match.
“For many years I have always enjoyed the new ball. Now, whenever I pick up the ball in the nets it is always the new ball. What happened in the last game where we had to rest our two main fast bowlers, I Had to bowl with the new ball. It was never pressure… Half the time the pressure is not there if you prepare well.”
India’s T20I squad against New Zealand: Hardik Pandya (c), Suryakumar Yadav (vc), 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.