India vs New Zealand: Why Prithvi Shaw and why not Mayank Agarwal? List A numbers tell a different story
IND vs NZ: Mayank has made a sensational start to his Test career and has been one of the most prolific batsmen even in List A cricket. In 81 innings, he has scored 3909 runs at an average of 50.11 and with a strike rate of 101.29.
With the injury to Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw could be in line for an ODI debut in New Zealand having replaced the injured left-hander. Both teams play a five-match T20I series before the ODI series for which Sanju Samson has been drafted into the side. Dhawan will now head to the National Cricket Academy for his rehabilitation. There were reports that along with Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill were also in the fray to replace Dhawan. However, the selectors went ahead with Shaw who has been in fine form against New Zealand A in the ongoing series. Having said this, both Mayank and Shubman could well feel aggrieved as both these players have better averages than Shaw in List A cricket.
Mayank has made a sensational start to his Test career and has been one of the most prolific batsmen even in List A cricket. In 81 innings, he has scored 3909 runs at an average of 50.11 and with a strike rate of 101.29.
Gill, on the other hand, has scored 2234 runs at an average of 47.53 and with a strike rate of 88.
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There is no denying the fact that Shaw is a prodigious talent, but Gill was included in the Indian squad in India’s previous New Zealand tour and could have been part of the side even on this tour.
Mayank was a late addition to India’s world cup squad and has been a consistent performer for India in Test cricket and could have made a smooth transition even in ODIs.
Now with Shaw already in the side, the young man has the chance to get his career back on track. He had a sensational start to his Test career but then injuries have impeded his progress. 2019 further did not go Shaw’s way as he was handed an eight-month doping ban. He made a return to cricket at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in November, and smashed 63 runs in 39 balls to guide Mumbai to an easy win over Assam. He, followed it up with two more fifties in the domestic T20 tournament.
India’s T20I squad: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur
India’s ODI squad: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Kedar Jadhav
