"He has done enough!"- Fans baffled by Prithvi Shaw's exclusion from India's Test squad

Prithvi Shaw's sensational form was overlooked by Team India's selectors

Prithvi Shaw and Hardik Pandya have been excluded from Team India's huge squad that is set to travel to England for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final as well as the Test series against the Three Lions.

Despite having a strong 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy season where he scored a ridiculous 827 runs from 8 games, Prithvi Shaw's horror show in Australia was not overlooked by the national selectors. The 21-year-old was also dropped from Team India's squad for the home series against England.

Hardik Pandya's inability to contribute as a genuine all-rounder might well have played its part in the 27-year-old missing out on the 24-man contingent. Although he was part of Team India's squad for the Test series against England, Hardik wasn't deemed fit enough to bowl regularly.

Twitter reacts to Prithvi Shaw's exclusion

Fans had mixed reactions to the decision to exclude both Prithvi Shaw and Hardik Pandya from the Indian squad for the summit clash against New Zealand and the long tour to England. While some agreed with Shaw's exclusion, others believed the youngster was hard done by despite showing brilliant form of late.

Here's how the fans reacted to Prithvi Shaw's exclusion and the rest of Team India's squad on Twitter:

Comeback will be greater than the setback
I believe in Prithvi Shaw pic.twitter.com/2cPDOTIPnN
— 𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍 (@Nitin__10) May 7, 2021

No place for Prithvi Shaw who showed excellent form in the truncated IPL season, such is the competition for places in the Indian team https://t.co/qLlxAXiyTl
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 7, 2021

Where is @PrithviShaw https://t.co/pyZT6IiCrN
— . (@SAHILHERE9) May 7, 2021

Not his loss
— Om (@hamilton_103) May 7, 2021

India leave out Prithvi Shaw for WTC Final , England Tests ,Le Shaw: pic.twitter.com/yHfjKwfxf2
— GABBAR (@GABBAR53160945) May 7, 2021

No Hardik
No Bhuvi.

Prithvi Shaw not selected justified need to prove in FC cricket. White ball form should not be a basis of selection.
— Shashank Balnad Kukkaje😷🇮🇳 (@shashank_balnad) May 7, 2021

Prithvi Shaw should have been picked as backup opener. Reckon he’s done enough to be picked. https://t.co/Ep8HuAE7GX
— Prem Mohanty (@philipbkk) May 7, 2021

Prithvi Shaw's name was not even discussed during the selection meeting (Sports Today)

The selectors are not considering him for 5-day cricket as of now#WTCFinal #TeamIndia
— Cricketbolo (@cricketbolo) May 7, 2021

India go to England with a lot of spin bowling all-rounders but no seam bowling all-rounder. Once it was clear that Hardik Pandya wasn't bowling enough, it was clear he couldn't make the team. Sadly, Kuldeep's free fall continues.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 7, 2021

No Hardik Pandya in Test squad . Earth is healing ❤️
— Aivy (@SpiderPant) May 7, 2021

Key pointers:

• Most shocking for me is no Bhuvneshwar Kumar in England

• Kuldeep Yadav dropped

• Hardik Pandya (as a pure batter) is difficult in Tests

• If Prithvi Shaw was dropped for one bad series, he should have been included now#WTCFinal #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/E1MwG028YP
— Yash Lahoti (@YvLahoti) May 7, 2021

There were no surprises in the actual squad.

KL Rahul continues to get picked for nothing. Shardul Thakur backed for the Gabba heroics.

And Kuldeep Yadav getting dropped.

Nagwaswalla and Prasidh replace Rajpoot and Warrier among standby pacers. I wonder if it rotation.
— Krishna Kumar (@KrishnaKRM) May 7, 2021

2 things clear from the selection meeting
1. Prithvi Shaw as of now is not in selection loop as far as Test cricket is concerned.
2. Hardik Pandya is not playing Test cricket in near or distant future. Perhaps never again. We will see a pure hard-hitting white ball player may be
— Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) May 7, 2021

The 18 players that were confirmed seemed to pick themselves from the brilliant performances that they have shown in the Test series Down Under as well as at home against England. Pacers Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj have retained their spots following match-winning performances against Australia.

As far as the all-rounders are concerned, Team India will be bolstered by the return of Ravindra Jadeja, who recovered from his thumb injury and looked to be in stunning form in IPL 2021. However, the likes of Washington Sundar and Axar Patel have also proved their mettle in the recent past and deserve to be selected.

KL Rahul and Wriddhiman Saha are currently being kept on standby as they are recovering from surgery and COVID-19 respectively. Among the reserve players, Avesh Khan has been a standout name thanks to his exploits in IPL 2021 and will certainly be the one to watch out for in the future.