Fit Or Not, Prithvi Shaw Not To Be Picked For New Zealand Tests: Report

Injury has dealt yet another setback to young Prithvi Shaw as the opener is sweating over his injured shoulder. Last week, he had left the Mumbai camp midway through their Ranji Trophy fixture against Karnataka at Bandra Kurla Complex due to a left rotator cuff injury. The highly-rated youngster was rushed to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru to assess the extent of damage.

Having made his comeback in November after serving a doping ban, Prithvi Shaw was recently named in India A’s squad for the tour of New Zealand. He is a part of both the squads – four-day games as well as one-day games. The right-handed batsman earned the call after hitting the ground running for Mumbai in domestic circuit.

He scored 240 runs in five innings, including three half-centuries, for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He followed that up with scores of 66 and 202, his maiden first-class double century, in Mumbai’s 309-run win over Baroda in their Ranji Trophy opener in December.

No international cricket:

Prithvi Shaw would be hoping that he recovers in time for the India A tour and does well in the series which could pave way for his return to the Test side. He has not played for India since his debut two-match Test series against West Indies in October 2018.

Speculations are rife that he could be named in the Test squad as the backup opener if he does well in New Zealand. And while only time will tell whether he recovers in time for India A’s tour, he is reportedly set to be snubbed for the Test series. As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, the decision-makers are thinking that Prithvi Shaw should be allowed to play little more domestic cricket before he makes his international comeback.

Since India only play two Test series in 2020, Shaw’s might have to wait for long to make a comeback. India A players leave for New Zealand on January 10 and an update regarding Shaw will be out in a couple of days. With Shaw now pretty much out of contention, Shubman Gill looks set to be the part of the Test side as a backup for Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal.

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