Prithvi Shaw is all set to become India’s 230th ODI cricketer as skipper Virat Kohli confirmed a debut for the youngster. He also hinted a debut for Mayank Agarwal but that will only be confirmed at the toss time. The move will allow KL Rahul to keep wickets and do the finisher’s job. He is confirmed to bat in the middle-order.
It also means that Rishabh Pant will sit out if he isn’t tried out as opener. The wicketkeeper-batsman lost his gloves to Rahul during the Australia series and has remained out of playing XI since then.
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Shaw was already a part of the ODI squad, having replaced Shikhar Dhawan before the team flew to New Zealand. Mayank has come in for Rohit Sharma, who has been ruled out of ODI and Test series due to a calf issue.
Shaw pressed his case for selection with a quick-fire 150 off 100 balls in the first match he played for India A. He followed up with scores of 48, 2 and 55 in next three matches. The former India U-19 World Cup-winning captain is uncapped in white-ball format and will hope to make an impact right away.
Talking of Agarwal, he has been part of ODI squad twice but is uncapped in this format. The right-handed batsman has had a poor run in New Zealand tour so far. He only managed 130 runs in five List A matches and failed to open his account in the first unofficial Test. But since there was no other option available, selectors picked Mayank. He is an experienced campaigner and will hope to regain form if given a chance.
Virat Kohli will bat at three while Shreyas Iyer will come out at four. Rahul will come at five. It remains to be seen if Manish Pandey keeps his spot.
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New Zealand will also miss out on services of their captain Kane Williamson as he has been ruled out of first two ODIs. Mark Chapman, who scored two centuries for New Zealand A recently, has replaced Williamson. Tom Latham will lead Black Caps once again.
The first ODI of the series takes place at Seddon Park in Hamilton tomorrow.