The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Tuesday, announced India’s travelling squad for the upcoming New Zealand tour, with youngster Prithvi Shaw earning his maiden ODI call, replacing injured Shikhar Dhawan in the team. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson has been included in the T20I team after being initially left out of the squad.
Dhawan, who was in red-hot form against Australia in a recently concluded series – injured his shoulder after diving to save an Aaron Finch shot in the third ODI in Bengaluru. He walked off the field soon after the incident and did not bat.
"An MRI of his shoulder was conducted, and the results have confirmed a grade II injury of his acromio-clavicular joint. His hand will be in a sling and he has been advised rest for some time. He will start his active rehab management in the first week of February at the National Cricket Academy," the BCCI said in a release.
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As for Shaw, the 20-year-old was given a backdated eight-month ban for a doping violation during the 2018-19 domestic season. His ban expired in November 2019 and he enjoyed a stellar run of form in Ranji Trophy for Mumbai before a shoulder injury struck him down.
Nevertheless, he has already made a statement of intent by slamming a 100-ball 150 during India A’s convincing win over New Zealand XI on January 19 in Lincoln.
Samson, on the other hand, has had his ups and downs since making his debut in July 2015. Since then, he has only played one T20I – against Sri Lanka earlier this year- but failed to nail any authority after hitting a six on his very first ball.
The 25-year-old, in fact, wasn’t initially picked for the T20I squad which was named last week, but with Dhawan out, he found his way into the team.
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Meanwhile, all-rounder Hardik Pandya still remains out due to his long-standing back injury. The 26-year-old, who trained with the Indian team during the first ODI against Australia in Mumbai, is expected to continue his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and train under Rahul Dravid.
India’s T20I squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, 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, 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.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / William West
