'It All Depended On...': Prithvi Shaw Breaks Silence On His Snub From India XI During Home Series With NZ

Prithvi Shaw, despite scoring plenty of runs with an outstanding strike-rate in the domestic circuit, didn't get an opportunity to play a single match during IND vs NZ T20 series.

Team India's out-of-favor batter Prithvi Shaw returned to the national team after nearly two years when the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) selection committee named him in India's squad for three-match T20I series against New Zealand, this year.

However, the in-form opener, despite scoring plenty of runs in the domestic circuit with an outstanding strike-rate, didn't get an opportunity to play a single match during IND vs NZ T20 series as the team management preferred Shubman Gill over him in the playing XI.

Notably, Gill failed in the first two T20Is, but scored a memorable maiden ton in the third and final T20I vs NZ. The last time Shaw played a match for team India was back in July 2021 against Sri Lanka.

Now after a month, Shaw has finally spoken for the first time about how he felt after not being included in India's playing XI in all three T20Is during home series with New Zealand.

“I felt really nice coming back into the T20I squad, to meet the players and train with them. I enjoyed that bit. Yes I did not get an opportunity but was given the chance of making a comeback, that mattered,” Shaw said while speaking to News24 Sport.

The talented youngster revealed that selection was in the hands of skipper Hardik Pandya and the coach Rahul Dravid.

"It all depended on them, when to play when not to, but I respected that because probably they wanted to give the person before me a bit longer run. But again, I don't regret that. I will keep on looking for opportunities because I have a list of goals I want to achieve with the Indian team,” he added.

Shaw made headlines when he scored record-breaking 379 in a Ranji Trophy fixture against Assam, probably the innings that compelled selectors to name him in India's T20I squad for NZ tour.

When asked why selectors continued to ignore him, Shaw said he kept getting runs but a big score was missing and the 379 he scored just came at the right time.

“I kept on scoring runs. I felt if that was not enough then I have to score more and more...then I scored 379. It was just my day and felt I will not let go of this opportunity. Sometimes it just tends to hit you that why I am not in the Indian team for so long despite all the efforts...but it's never too late," he added.