1st ODI: Fresh arrivals in opening order as Mayank, Shaw make debuts against New Zealand
Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw made their respective ODI debuts during the first ODI of the three-match series against New Zealand on Wednesday. The two became the 230th and 231st players respectively to represent India in the fifty-over format. Both the players received their ODI caps from Virat Kohli.
The duo has represented India only in Test cricket so far. While Mayank is a regular for the team in the longest format of the game, Shaw has appeared for India in two Test matches. The latter lost his place in the Test squad after facing an injury during the Australian tour in 2018.
Mayank Agarwal received a call-up to the Indian ODI side during the 2019 World Cup after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the tournament with injury, but didn't get a game. Incidentally, the 28-year-old Karnataka batsman was called-in as a replacement for Rohit Sharma this time, who will miss the remaining tour to New Zealand with a calf-injury.
Rohit faced the injury during the final T20I of the recently-concluded five-match series on the tour.
Shaw, on the other hand, has impressed with his performances ever since his comeback from the ban. He shined for the Mumbai side in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and continued on his exploits in the Ranji Trophy. The youngster was eventually called-up for India A's tour to New Zealand last month.
He scored a brilliant 150 on his very first game of the tour against New Zealand XI, and registered scores of 48, 2 and 55 in the following matches.
The arrival of both the players brings more competition for the opening spot in the fifty-over format, which has been in focus ever since the end of the 2019 World Cup. While KL Rahul impressed with his performances as an opener in ODIs in the absence of an injured Shikhar Dhawan, the Delhi veteran made a brilliant comeback in the position during the ODI series against Australia last month.
However, Dhawan faced an injury again, which forced the side to opt for a new opener. With Rohit also ruled out, the situation is opportune for Mayank and Shaw to impress with their performances and solidify a place in the Indian playing XI in the fifty-over format.
