Watch: Hardik Pandya hands over New Zealand series trophy to Prithvi Shaw for team picture

Hardik Pandya handing over the series win trophy to Prithvi Shaw was evidence of the team’s tradition started by MS Dhoni. Many years back, the former wicketkeeper batter started the tradition of handing series wins or World Championship trophies to other players. After Dhoni, the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma continued the tradition. Now, Pandya continued the same after the third T20I against New Zealand.

After winning the three-match series against the Kiwis, the all-rounder handed the series-winning trophy to Shaw. In the game, the Men In Blue won the toss and elected to bat first. Thanks to Shubman Gill’s maiden T20I hundred and contributions from players such as Hardik Pandya and Rahul Tripathi helped the team reached a total of 234/4. In reply, the Blackcaps were bowled out for 66 runs, losing the game by 168 runs.

Watch the video here

https://twitter.com/thecricketgully/status/1620862457509183488?s=20

Prithvi Shaw didn’t play a single game in the series

Meanwhile, the 2018 U19 World Cup-winning skipper made his comeback in the national side. For the first time since July 2021, Shaw was part of the Indian team. However, the team preferred Shubman Gill who was having great form with the bat in ODI cricket. The fans and former India cricketers criticized the move. However, Gill shut down his critics after scoring his maiden T20I hundred in the third T20I.

Meanwhile, it will interesting to see when Shaw will make his comeback in the Indian team. This was the last T20I series before the Indian team plays against Australia for a four-match Test series and a three-match ODI series. After this, the Indian T20 League 2023 will be played and the team Indian players will be busy with their franchises during the tournament. Shaw will play for Delhi and would love to showcase his talent during the tournament.