Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday (October 31) announced the Team India squads for the upcoming white-ball tour of New Zealand and the ODI & Test series in Bangladesh.
Three captains were named in all, Hardik Pandya and Shikhar Dhawan were appointed as captain for the T20Is and ODIs in New Zealand, respectively, while regular captain Rohit Sharma will return to lead the side in Bangladesh.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah wasn't considered as the selectors decided to let him recover fully before bringing him back to international cricket, while all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is named for the ODIs and Tests in Bangladesh (subject to fitness).
Amidst all this, opener Prithvi Shaw and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi were two glaring omissions, particularly from the T20I team that will tour New Zealand, as the likes of Rohit, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Akshar Patel are rested.
Shaw has been scoring heavily in domestic cricket at a high strike-rate which is comfortably the best among his competitors, and Bishnoi has impressed many in his limited opportunities in the shortest format for India.
Chief selector Chetan Sharma was asked in his press conference about Shaw being ignored constantly, to which he replied, “We are basically looking for Prithvi (Shaw). We are in constant touch with Prithvi. He is doing well. There is nothing wrong with him at all. The thing is that we have to see whether the guys who are already playing and performing are getting their chances. He will definitely get his chance the away he is batting. Selectors are in constant touch with Prithvi. Whenever we are there in matches, we are talking to him, and he will get his chances very soon.”
Prithvi Shaw and Ravi Bishnoi were expectedly disappointed by the snub as they posted cryptic Instagram stories. Check them out here:
