New South Wales wicketkeeper-batter Lachlan Shaw has had a whirlwind start to the 2026-27 summer.

Despite having played just 14 List A and seven first-class matches prior to the new season, Shaw was named the state’s new one-day captain by NSW coach – and fellow wicketkeeper – Brad Haddin, before stepping in to lead the Sheffield Shield side too when Nic Maddinson was called up to the Test team.

His rapid rise continued this week when the 23-year-old was picked in Australia’s T20 squad to take on England across November and December with selection chair George Bailey labelling the precocious batter a talent for the future.

With three-format star Josh Inglis left out of the T20I squad to prepare for this summer’s four-Test series against New Zealand, the keeping duties will fall to either Shaw or Victorian Sam Harper, both are uncapped on the international stage.

Shaw said national selector Tony Dodemaide had left the door open for him to be picked as a specialist batter if Harper takes the gloves, like has been the case in the NSW Shield side this season with Ryan Hicks behind the stumps.

“As a youngster I was always a keeper, and growing up I’ve had opportunities in the NSW set up to keep,” Shaw told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

“It’s something I really (think) highly for myself still and if the opportunity presents itself, I’m definitely there to take the gloves.

“I started keeping in the first two one-dayers of our NSW season (and for Australia A against India A last month), so definitely I’m an option to do it. I’m happy to play different roles; batting, keeping, in the field – whatever suits the team best.

“Keeping is definitely something I love doing, and something I want to do as well.”

Shaw learnt of his national call-up after NSW’s Sheffield Shield loss to Tasmania last Sunday, and the middle-order batter admitted it wasn’t something that was in his radar at this stage of his career.

The northern Sydney product made a name for himself at the end of 2024 when he was brought into Sydney Sixers’ squad as a local replacement player for Steve Smith.

Since then, Shaw has established himself within NSW’s domestic set up and looks likely to play a major role in both the state and national team’s future. And there’s perhaps no better role model to guide him through the next phase of his career than his NSW coach, who played 226 matches for Australia across all formats before his retirement in 2015.

“He’s definitely an idol,” Shaw said of Haddin. “When I was growing up, I watched him play a lot.

“Now I can have those conversations with him about cricket on and off the field, and see what he’s learnt, and hopefully he can guide me, and my tactical brain as captain, and lead me in the right direction.”

Shaw has scored five half-centuries from nine first-class matches, with a top score of 68 and an average of 34.18. In one-day cricket, Shaw has a high score of 80 and an average of 32 from 19 matches, while in T20s he averages 24.5 from 15 games.

His rise to the NSW captaincy aged 23 speaks as much about the right-hander’s character as well as his talent. Shaw is unbeaten through his three One-Day Cup matches at the helm this season, while he was also in charge during the Blues’ frustrating Shield draw with Western Australia where last-wicket pair of Joel Curtis and Joel Paris held on for 28 overs to split the points.

He said his leadership and tactical nous had benefited a lot from his experiences during the opening stages of the season.

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“It’s definitely a new thing and has been challenging at times, but I’ve loved it, trying to lead the boys into a style we want to play, (which is) that positive sort of brand of cricket,” Shaw said.

“I wouldn’t say (I would have done things) differently as such, but I think small little bits earlier in the game (against WA). It wasn’t necessarily that last hour but could have been the three hours leading up to (the draw) as well.

“I think a lot of people might watch the game and go, ‘Yeah, it was that last hour we lost it.’ Well, if you do little things before that as well, they all build up, and they’re the moments that great captains use. I’ll get there.”

Australia v England ODI & T20I Series 2026

First ODI: November 13, Perth Stadium, 2:30pm AEDT (D/N)

Second ODI: November 15, Adelaide Oval, 2:30pm AEDT (D/N)

Third ODI: November 18, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:30pm AEDT (D/N)

Australia squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Jack Edwards, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Ollie Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Liam Scott, Adam Zampa.

England squad: Harry Brook (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Josh Tongue

First T20I: November 21, MCG, 7:15pm AEDT

Second T20I: November 24, Gold Coast Stadium, 7:15pm AEDT

Third T20I: November 27, The Gabba, 7:15pm AEDT

Fourth T20I: November 29, SCG, 7:15pm AEDT

Fifth T20I: December 2, Manuka Oval, 7:15pm AEDT

Australia squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Joel Davies, Jack Edwards, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Spencer Johnson, Mitch Owen, Lachlan Shaw, Adam Zampa

England squad: Harry Brook (c), Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, James Coles, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Aneurin Donald, Eddie Jack, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Thomas Rew, Phil Salt, Luke Wood.