IND vs NZ 2022: “He could have gone as an extra player” – Virender Sehwag on Prithvi Shaw’s absence from New Zealand Tour

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag feels swashbuckling batter Prithvi Shaw could’ve been part of India’s upcoming white-ball series in New Zealand. He hailed the opener for his decent strike rate in the shorter format and predicted that the right-handed batter would soon make a comeback into Team India.

Shaw recently scored 332 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 181.42 for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Sehwag said:

“I wanted to see Prithvi Shaw [in New Zealand]. He is not in T20I or ODI squad. There’s a 2023 World Cup, so I think he might come back.”

Sehwag added:

“He plays in the top order and his strike is around 150, which is suitable for the T20 format. He could have gone as an extra player.”

Shaw last played for India against Sri Lanka in July 2021. He will be looking to make an impact in IPL 2023 to garner the attention of the Selection Committee.

He scored 283 runs in 10 matches for Delhi Capitals at a strike rate of 152.97 in the last edition of the T20 extravaganza.

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“Are you giving him rest?” – Virender Sehwag questions Axar Patel’s absence from India squad vs NZ

Sehwag also questioned why Axar Patel was left out of the New Zealand tour. He remarked that there has been no clarity on his situation:

“Axar Patel played all the matches of the T20 World Cup, but you are not taking him to New Zealand. Are you giving him rest, or have you told him that we’ve seen enough of you? There is no clarity.”

Axar failed to step up for India in the T20 World Cup, picking up only three wickets in five matches, including 2/18 against Netherlands. He also couldn't make an impact with the bat, with nine runs in three innings.

Team India are set to play three T20Is & three ODIs in New Zealand in November. The three-match T20I series kickstarts in Wellington on November 18. The action will then shift to Mount Maunganui (November 20) and Napier (November 22) for the second and third T20Is.

India’s squad for T20Is: Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umran Malik.

Meanwhile, the Shikhar Dhawan-led ODI side will look to avenge India’s 0-3 whitewash (2019-20) against the Blackcaps in their last meeting in New Zealand.