The young Indain protege, Prithvi Shaw has made a comeback in the Indian Test squad for the two-match series against New Zealand along with his U-19 teammate Shubman Gill. However, for the ODIs, Mayank Agarwal will be replacing the injured Rohit Sharma as the series is scheduled to commence on Wednesday.
Shaw can also be termed as the replacement of Rohit in the Test squad as the latter has been ruled out of the tour due to a muscle tear in his left calf muscle. The two-match Test series is scheduled to commence in Wellington on February 21. It can also be expected the Mayank will open with Shaw in ODIs as KL Rahul is expected to bat in the middle-order.
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In a statement regarding the same, BCCI said, “Vice-captain Rohit Sharma sustained a left calf muscle strain during the fifth T20I against New Zealand at Tauranga on Sunday. He underwent an MRI scan in Hamilton on Monday. The opening batsman has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI and the Test series and will be referred to the National Cricket Academy for further management of his injury.”
Shaw had earned his maiden call-up for India’s ODI squad last month for the New Zealand series. After serving an eight-month doping ban last year, Shaw made a thunderous comeback and scored a plethora of runs in domestic cricket with the double century against Baroda being the highlight. He has already been in New Zealand with the A team and smashed a 150 against New Zealand XI in his first innings on the tour.
Apart from Shaw, Shubman Gill has also retained his position in the Test squad as he scored a match-winning double century for India A against New Zealand on Sunday. He was also part of the squad during the home Test series against South Africa and Bangladesh but did not get a game.
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Surprisingly, Kuldeep Yadav has been dropped from the Test squad as the selectors have decided to retain the veteran spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. The Chinaman played his last Test during the tour of Australia in January last year as Ashwin and Jadeja were preferred during the home series.
The young Fast bowler, Navdeep Saini has also included in the Test squad as he has been doing more than a decent job in limited-overs cricket. Apart from him, the veteran fast bowler, Ishant Sharma, who had twisted his ankle during a Ranji Trophy game last month, has kept in the squad but his participation in the series is subject to fitness.
India’s Test squad: Virat Kohli (C), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ishant Sharma (subject to fitness clearance).
