India’s young batter Prithvi Shaw breathed a big sigh of relief when the Indian Cricket Board included him in the squad for the three-match T20I series against New Zealand. The 23-year-old batter was away from action in international matches since July 2021, where he was part of the Sri Lanka tour. Many fans were shocked when he was continuously getting ignored by the selectors while other youngsters were getting opportunities to play for the national side.
The 23-year-old turned up for his state Mumbai in the domestic competitions during this duration and kept scoring runs and tons for fun. Knock by knock, the calls for Shaw’s inclusion back in the set-up only grew louder and the moment finally came when he left the selectors with no choice. Shaw opened up on the feeling and revealed how receiving the news left him scared for a brief moment. Shaw called his 18-month hiatus as a 'tough journey.'
Watch the video here:
Emotional Prithvi Shaw about his tough phase & come back into Indian team. pic.twitter.com/R4YjMoCQq6
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 27, 2023
"It's been long that I wasn’t a part of this team. I am happy to be back. The team came a little late at night, around 10:30 PM or so. I saw a lot of calls and messages. My phone was getting hanged. I was like, ‘What has exactly happened?' Then I saw that I got selected for the Indian team," Shaw said in a video posted by the Indian Cricket Board.
"It has been a tough journey for me in the last 18 months, but the people who have supported me throughout my career, and they are still beside me even if I am not playing," he added.
Prithvi Shaw's brilliant form in domestic cricket
Shaw isn’t the one to repress his emotions. The cricketer has been very vocal about his non-selection in the national side at times, and his grievances were not completely untrue as he was performing well in domestic cricket. He could be seen many times expressing his disappointment with some cryptic social media posts.
The big daddy knock was enough to earn his slot back in the Indian team which came against Assam in the Ranji Trophy this season. The 379-run knock broke plenty of records and finally reopened the door to the Indian dressing room as he was picked for the T20I series vs New Zealand.