"Sai Baba ne sunn liya" - Fans ecstatic after Prithvi Shaw features in the T20I squad against New Zealand 

In-form opening batter Prithvi Shaw has been called up to the squad for the three-match T20I series against New Zealand. The Mumbai-born player's last appearance for India came during their tour of Sri Lanka in 2021. Since then, he has been vying to make a return to the national setup and has had to wait for a significant while on the sidelines despite solid performances on the domestic circuit.

The youngster recently scored a 379-run knock for Mumbai in their most recent Ranji Trophy encounter against Assam. The blistering innings seems to have tipped the scales in his favor despite it coming in red-ball cricket. To his credit, however, he had exceptional Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy campaigns as well.

Team India have added depth to their opening batting unit for the T20Is against New Zealand, with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul not being part of the Hardik Pandya-led side. Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, and Ruturaj Gaikwad retain their places from the previous series against Sri Lanka.

Fans were pleased to see Shaw finally being rewarded for his consistent exploits. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:

Prithvi Shaw was dismissed for a duck on his T20I debut

The prodigal batter made his T20I debut during the tour of Sri Lanka in 2021, where he was part of a second-string unit led by Shikhar Dhawan. He made his debut in the series opener but was dismissed for a golden duck by Dushmanta Chameera.

Despite a blip on his T20I debut, Shaw continued to make a case for himself for the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Mumbai team on the domestic circuit.

Team India squad for New Zealand T20Is

Hardik Pandya (Captain), Suryakumar Yadav (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Kumar.

The three-match affair against New Zealand is scheduled to begin on January 27. Ranchi, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad will play host to the matches, which will be followed by the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from February 4.

Will Prithvi Shaw make it into the playing XI ahead of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill in the T20Is against New Zealand? Let us know what you think.

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