Star batter Prithvi Shaw has faced another snub as he has been left out of Mumbai's squad for the first three matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024/25. Shaw, who was recently part of Mumbai's team in their victorious Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign, has not been in form in recent times. Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane's name is also missing from the 17-member squad.
The Mumbai Cricket Association announced a 17-member squad for the opening three matches of the tournament. "The Senior Selection Committee of Mumbai Cricket Association consisting of Mr. Sanjay Patil (Chairman), Mr. Ravi Thaker, Mr. Jeetendra Thackeray, Mr. Kiran Powar and Mr. Vikrant Yeligeti has selected the following players to represent Mumbai in first three matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-2025 to be played from 21st December 2024 at Ahmedabad," MCA said in a statement.
The MCA has not clarified the reason why Rahane's name is not in the squad, but as per media reports, he has asked for rest. India's T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and other internationals Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur are also part of the squad.
Shaw reacted to his snub on Instagram. "Tell me God, what more do I have to see? If 65 innings, 3399 runs at an average of 55.7 with a strike rate of 126, I'm not good enough. But I will keep my faith in you and, hopefully, people still believe in me, because I will come back for sure. Om Sai Ram," the cricketer wrote in his Instagram story.
In October 2024, he was dropped from Mumbai's Ranji Trophy squad due to fitness and disciplinary issues. The 25-year-old was released by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the 2025 mega auction and found no takers in the bidding war last month.
Recently, Shreyas Iyer reacted on Shaw's case, saying that he needs to improve his work ethics. "I think, personally, he is a God-gifted player. The amount of talent he possesses as an individual, no one has it. That's true. It's just that he needs to improve his work ethics," Iyer said after the SMAT win.
Mumbai's squad for first three matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy: Shreyas Iyer (c), Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Jay Bista, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Siddhesh Lad, Hardik Tamore, Prasad Pawar, Atharva Ankolekar, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur, Royston Dias, Juned Khan, Harsh Tanna and Vinayak Bhoir
