India vs Zimbabwe: Shahbaz Ahmed's maiden India call-up highlights his rise as he pips Krunal Pandya

Anything in excess is generally considered to be bad, but not with the Indian cricket team. Teams face a paucity of spinners, especially left-arm, but not the Indian cricket team. In fact, Team India boasts of some of the best left-arm spin all-rounders in world cricket. And forget the playing XI, Shahbaz Ahmed being selected ahead of some others is just to strengthen the bench strength if the first-choice replacements are not available. Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Krunal Pandya , are some of the top names in the Indian circuit to have played international cricket. If the left-arm filter is removed, Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar as well, join the list. Ahmed has now joined the squad, although it can’t be said if he will get some game time. India are playing a second-string squad to Zimbabwe, and Shahbaz is a replacement for Sundar as the latter has been marred with injuries in recent times and will miss the ODI series as well. The 27-year-old all-rounder was called up after Sundar was diagnosed with an injury to his left shoulder , something that he suffered during the Royal London One Day Cup. While Krunal has been doing the rounds of the international circuit in recent times and is also experienced with 19 T20Is and five ODIs, Shahbaz being selected ahead of Krunal shall not come as a surprise but shall not be seen as a career-changing move either, considering the chances of making to the playing XI. Albeit, as the players re-iterate, nothing is better than an India call-up, in whatever format and against any team in the world. “Everybody who plays cricket wants to wear India colours. Being called up for the Indian team is a dream come true,” Shahbaz told News 9 after being selected to the squad.

Shahbaz Ahmed has received his maiden call-up to the Indian squad as Washington Sundar’s replacement for the upcoming 3️⃣-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. 🙌

Can’t wait to see you in #TeamIndia colours, Shahbaz. 🤩#PlayBold #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/4SjD7jkpef

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) August 16, 2022

Shahbaz made a name for himself in the domestic circuit, being a reliable middle-order batter and a good spinning option for Bengal. And the southpaw definitely caught the eyeballs in the Indian Premier League (IPL), playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). But has he pipped Krunal? Shahbaz made some significant contributions to his side’s progress to the quarter-finals in the 2022 Ranji Trophy. First, priceless 71 runs against Baroda in their tournament opener, and then an excellent under-pressure century against Madhya Pradesh when his team was struggling at 54/5. But this is in the longest format of the game. In his List A career, Shahbaz averages 47.28 with the bat, scoring 662 runs after 26 matches. He also has two centuries and two half-centuries within the limited opportunities that have come his way, that too batting in the middle order – at five or six. He has been decent with the ball too, scalping 24 wickets at an average of 39.20. But what stands out is his economy of 4.43 after 212 overs of bowling. In the IPL as well, Ahmed lit up the stadium on a couple of occasions and made his mark, especially with the 21-ball 32 in a 97-run partnership with Dinesh Karthik against Delhi Capitals. He has maintained a strike rate of 118.72 with the bat, from 29 games with RCB in three seasons. He also managed to pick up 13 wickets, with an economy of 8.58. Krunal, on the contrary, has averaged 36.95 in his List A career, scoring 2,328 runs in 80 games with only two centuries and 13 half-centuries to his name. But he has been a better bowler than Ahmed with 98 wickets at an average of 31.14 and an economy of 4.96. The elder Pandya is playing in the Royal London One Day Cup, for Warwickshire and has fared brilliantly with the ball, bagging nine wickets in four games. Hence, the answer to the above-raised question cannot be a blunt Yes or No. But the fact that Ahmed has been selected over Pandya would suggest that the latter has failed to impress the selectors. Or they might just want to experiment with someone new in the dugout. The fans might miss out on the Krunal Pandya memes that go viral every time he plays, but it will be difficult to say if the team will miss him on the field. With the likes of Axar Patel already in the setup, Shahbaz as well is less likely to have a go at the opposition, unless the team management takes a call to give him a chance in one of the games. But if he gets a game on the tour, he will be raring to go and answer the question in the utmost affirmative manner. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.