Shaw lost his place in the national team after a poor performance in the series against Australia, but he has since scored enough runs to make a comeback in the national limited-overs side.
Shaw scored 827 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and then 308 runs in 8 matches for Delhi Capitals in this year’s IPL, which was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Shaw will get a chance to redeem himself in the upcoming India-Sri Lanka series starting from July 18 in the first ODI.
Former India player and Tamil Nadu star WV Raman feels the Sri Lanka tour will be a good run-scoring opportunity for Shaw as he has done in recent months.
“He is a quality player and this tour is an opportunity for him to score runs against an international side,” Raman, who commented during the series, told TOI on Friday.
Not only for Shaw, this tour is also important for his opening partner and captain Shikhar Dhawan. With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli looking set to open for India in the upcoming World T20, Dhawan will be keen to stay in the mix by scoring runs at every opportunity.
“In Shikhar’s case, it is a matter of maintaining his competitive edge, waiting and seeing how things turn out. Unlike the others, Shikhar needs to be a little more patient and try and ensure that he makes the best possible use of these matches and puts the ball in the selectors’ court,” noted the former India opener. .
The journey is significant for Rahul Dravid as he will make his ‘debut’ as the head coach for the senior national team. According to Raman, after managing India ‘A’ teams and Under-19 teams and mentoring many youngsters in the past, Dravid is the right person to take the national team forward in the future.
“It (Dravid becoming a full-time coach) is likely to happen. When this will happen, nothing can be said about it, but I would be surprised if it does not happen in the near future.
Raman feels that former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who termed the Indian team for the Sri Lanka series as a second-rate team, should have been careful while making such statements.
“Ranatunga has been an integral part of Sri Lanka’s success and within his limits his own cricket board and cricket system to express his dismay in any way. But when he starts describing a visiting team or members of the visiting team, he should probably choose a little bit,” Raman said.
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