Shaw and Bishnoi should be the key takeaways from India's latest T20I team

Hardik Pandya in New Zealand with the Indian T20I side

No squad selection can please everyone, that's a fact. Every selection raises too many queries in people's minds, and that's always healthy for fans. However, sometimes - which is the case this time - the selectors make safe calls, which shouldn't be made today.

T20 cricket is all about expressing, and no one expresses themselves better than young blood. But, if the loss in the T20 World Cup 2022 was the mirror that the Indian Men's Cricket needed, then the ones running the board haven't learnt their lessons.

The conventional method of selection was the bread on which Indian cricket survived, and that's still the case. A board that runs the most dashing T20 league, which provides the fuel to the other countries to run, is the very same board that still needs to crack the code for their team. 

The man who won the last edition of Indian Extravaganza has been given the reign of the T20I setup. Fair call, but has he been given the best crop of T20 cricketers in the country? I don't think so. 

Shaw finds a place in T20s, but after Ranji heroics

Prithvi Shaw has to be the best bet for India for the opening slot - at least in the shortest format. However, a little boy, who plays an aggressive brand of cricket despite David Warner or Shikhar Dhawan being on the other end, has to be given the nod ahead of the ones currently in the scheme of things.

Shaw and Warner in IPL 2022

Disciplinary issues might be the reason for Shaw's omission, but were all our legends as firm as a rock? If a cricketer's job is to play cricket, then the noise of the bat should be the sole reason to judge a player.

In cricket, there's a famous saying: If you can't open the door, then break it. Shaw has finally smashed that door open, but the outside noise was one key reason for his comeback. 

The Mumbai batter has been scoring runs, smacking hundreds, and notching milestones for fun in the last couple of years. However, despite having a frail opening pair, India choose to overlook him. 

In the transition phase, players - without a T20 bone - were picked over Shaw. But finally, he has been recalled to the Indian dressing room after becoming a Ranji legend. Hopefully, this trip is much more than a waterboy's duty for Shaw.

Bishnoi still not in favour of things

Ravi Bishnoi must be doing something awfully wrong. His last outing for India in T20Is was against Pakistan, where he snapped the key wicket of Babar Azam at an all-important juncture of the game. And how was he rewarded for that? He was dropped from the team for not being picked for any further T20I series.

Bishnoi vs Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022

In a time when the Men in Blue are finding it tough to bank wickets in the middle phase, the selectors are failing to select an in-form spinner. While the team management is finding it tough to give confidence to their top-flight spinner, that's a whole different tale.

Age may be on Bishnoi's side, but one should be selected when he's on the top of the game. But that's not how Indian cricket works, teams selections are made by the conventional method.