3 reasons why Prithvi Shaw's return to India's T20I squad is the perfect move

Prithvi Shaw's inclusion in India's T20I squad against New Zealand has thrilled many fans and has got them buzzing on social media. The youngster was piling on runs in domestic cricket and many were shocked to see him miss out on every single squad that was announced over the past 12 months.

There were also rumors that Shaw wasn't being picked in the Indian team due to disciplinary issues. However, all those rumors were put to rest on Friday when the explosive opener was recalled to the squad after a gap of almost two years.

Prithvi Shaw had a sensational start to his international career, scoring a hundred on Test debut against West Indies. However, his technique was exposed in the pink ball Test during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the team seemed to gradually lose faith in the talented opener.

However, after months of waiting in the wings, an opportunity has finally arrived for Shaw and he will be keen to make the most of it. Let's take a look at three reasons why including Prithvi Shaw in the current Indian T20I team is a perfect move:

---

#3 Prithvi Shaw's impact in the powerplay

One of the major issues for Team India in the T20 World Cup was their slow start in the powerplay. This weakness was brutally exposed by England in the semifinals as they annihilated the Men in Blue by 10 wickets.

There has been a lot of talk about the need to include more players like Suryakumar Yadav in the T20I team, who attack from ball one. This is where Prithvi Shaw fits the billing perfectly.

In 70 T20 innings, Shaw has an outstanding strike rate of 152.34 in the powerplay and has scored 1269 runs in this period alone. These are staggering numbers that make fans even more perplexed as to why the young opener has played just one T20I to date.

---

#2 Shaw is in red-hot form at the moment

Shaw getting constantly overlooked by the selectors had many saying that the opener probably had to break the selection door with a marathon knock. That is exactly what the youngster did, smashing 379 recently in the Ranji Trophy and breaking Sanjay Manjrekar's record (377) of the highest individual score by a Mumbai batter.

Shaw is also the only player to score a double-hundred in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, a triple-hundred in the Ranji Trophy, and a hundred in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. These mind-boggling records made it almost impossible for the selectors to ignore him this time around.

---

#1 Ideal long-term replacement for Rohit Sharma

The likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not being picked in the T20I team has once again made many believe that the selectors have moved on from the veterans, at least in the shortest format.

With the goal being to build a team for the 2024 T20 World Cup, the Men in Blue need an explosive top-order batter who will play a fearless brand of cricket. Shubman Gill did not have the greatest of series on T20I debut, while Ishan Kishan has also been poor in his last 10 T20I innings.

This could be the perfect time for Prithvi Shaw to announce himself at this stage and probably even cement his place as India's first-choice T20I opener. Only time will tell whether he will get all three T20Is against New Zealand to prove his mettle.