Shubman Gill has been named as the reserve opener for the ongoing ODI series.
Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman believes that Prithvi Shaw deserved to be a part of India’s ODI squad for the ongoing three-match ODI series against England given his incredible outing in the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy – a 50-over domestic competition in India.
The young opening batsman amassed a record 827 runs from 8 matches at an average of 165.40 with 4 hundreds and a half-century and guide Mumbai to the Vijay Hazare Trophy title this month.
Despite his heroics with the bat, the 21-year-old didn’t get an India call-up ever since he was dropped from the national squad during a four-match Test series in Australia in December last year.
Following his poor outing in the first Test in Adelaide, Shaw was replaced by Shubman Gill who sealed the spot as a Test opener for India after amassing 259 runs in 6 innings at 51.80 with 2 half-centuries in Australia and then also in the ODI squad well and now for the ongoing series against England.
Reacting to the same, Laxman believes that Shaw is behind in the India selection queue despite his recent batting heroics in the domestic circuit because of Shubman who is doing well on the big stage.
Laxman said on Star Sports' show Cricket Connected: “I think, definitely, the way Prithvi Shaw performed, and probably as a captain, he led Mumbai to win the Vijay Hazare Trophy. I think he deserves to be a part of the ODI squad but the way the selectors have gone about selecting the squad is whoever have been performers; they have made a sort of a line or a queue.”
He further explained, “Prithvi Shaw, at the moment, is behind in the queue because we have Shubman Gill, who has done really well in international cricket, in the opportunity he has got recently. Plus, you have experience openers in the form of KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, and Rohit Sharma, and you can only have probably three or four openers in the squad.”
Meanwhile, the legendary batsman also lauded Shaw for working hard to resolve the flaws in his technique while backing the youngsters to make a comeback in Team India.
Laxman signed off by saying, “I am sure Prithvi Shaw will get his opportunity. What really impressed me was that he worked on his technique. It is not only about his performances, but there were some issues with his technique and that is something which he has worked on in the Vijay Hazare and he has been consistent. He is a match-winner, and I am sure he will get his opportunity.”