3 Reasons Why Prithvi Shaw Must Be Fast-Tracked In The Indian Team Before The 2023 ODI World Cup

3 Reasons Why Prithvi Shaw Must Be Fast-Tracked In The Indian Team Before The 2023 ODI World Cup. Prithvi Shaw has played only 5 Tests, 6 ODIs, and 1 T20I and has amassed 339 runs averaging 42.37 in Tests and 189 runs averaging 31.5 in ODIs.

Prithvi Shaw last played for the national team in July on Sri Lanka 2021 tour and was out for a first-ball duck on his T20I debut (the only T20I he played). He has played 6 ODIs, scoring 189 runs and 5 Tests with 339 runs with one century to his name.

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Prithvi Shaw has played just a solitary T20I for India to date. He wasn’t even selected in the second-string squads that traveled to Ireland, West Indies, and Zimbabwe. With opening being a serious issue in T20Is after the T20 World Cup 2022 debacle, it was baffling that Prithvi Shaw didn’t get a call-up for the New Zealand tour.

Prithvi Shaw though remains in contention for a spot in the 2023 ODI World Cup slated in October-November, as regular openers Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, and Rohit Sharma have been inconsistent, to say the least. Not much experienced Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan have been prolific as of late, but the question remains whether they would carry that form in the 2023 ODI World Cup.

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3 Reasons Why Prithvi Shaw Must Be Fast-Tracked In The Indian Team Before The 2023 ODI World Cup

1. Inexperience Of Openers Shubman Gill And Ishan Kishan

The Punjab-born Shubman Gill has featured in 12 ODI games in the 50-over format and notched up 638 runs that too at an impressive strike rate of 102.57, which includes four half-centuries and one century. He was recalled in 2022 after playing only 3 ODIs in 2019 and 2020 and he managed 638 runs averaging 70.89.

Shubman Gill was Man of the series in the ODI series against West Indies and Zimbabwe where he amassed 205 and 245 runs respectively averaging 102.5 and 122.5. He however isn’t much experienced as Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Shikhar Dhawan.

Ishan Kishan is an emerging wicketkeeper-batsman and opener for the Indian team. The keeper has played 10 ODIs where he amassed 477 runs averaging 53 with 3 fifties and a double ton in his last ODI.

Young Ishan Kishan got his chance in the third and final inconsequential ODI against Bangladesh at Chattogram against Bangladesh after captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out due to an injury. Ishan Kishan eventually perished for 210 off 131 balls. His innings was laced with 10 sixes and 24 boundaries. However, like Shubman Gill, he is also inexperienced in the ODI format.

2. Inconsistency Of Openers KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma And Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Shikhar Dhawan has been inconsistent in ODIs, so Prithvi Shaw should be fast-tracked before the 2023 ODI World Cup. All-format skipper Rohit Sharma has scored 249 runs averaging 41.5 in 8 ODIs in 2022 but hasn’t been able to score a ton since January 2020. In T20Is, he averages only 24.3 in 2022, where he amassed 656 runs in 22 games.

Shikhar Dhawan, nowadays an ODI specialist opener, had managed 688 runs in 22 ODIs averaging 34.4 but at a below-par strike rate of 74.22. Moreover, he was dropped for the Sri Lanka ODI series after a poor ODI series against Bangladesh where he managed only 18 runs in 3 ODIs averaging a mere 6 at a terrible strike rate of 51.43.

3. Prithvi Shaw’s Recent Form

In 49 List A games, Prithvi Shaw has an average of 53.76 and a strike rate of 123.95. With 315 runs, including two hundred and a fifty, he finished third in the Duleep Trophy. The opening batter’s strike rate of 92.92, was the highest in the competition among players who scored more than 21 runs. During the Duleep Trophy, Prithvi Shaw hit a hundred against North-East Zone for West Zone, demonstrating his strong form.

He was the 2nd highest run-getter with 332 runs averaging 36.88 in 10 games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022-23 at a strike rate of 181.42. Repeatedly overlooked for the Indian team, Prithvi Shaw made a statement with a blistering 61-ball 134 and powered Mumbai to a 61-run victory over Assam at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

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