A career falling apart after a bright start – What’s next for Prithvi Shaw?
The young Indian talent hailing from Mumbai, Prithvi Shaw isn’t having the best of times with the willow and as a result has been put under major scrutiny by the cricket analysts, media and the fans. There is no doubt that the opening batsman is backed with immense talent but he needs to have an incredible work ethic, the relentless desire to improve every single day and a penchant for perfection to rise through the ranks and stamp his authority on the 22 yards.
Shaw was recognized for the very first time as a promising batsman at the tender age of 15 with his huge scores in school cricket. This was followed by Prithvi hammering a ton on debut in Ranji and Duleep Trophy and then he led India U-19 to World Cup glory in 2018.
The 21-year-old had given another testimony to his talent while making his international debut in the purest format of the game against West Indies on October 4, 2018. Despite being just 18-year-old, he had smashed a scintillating 134 on his Test debut. The knock showcased his flamboyant skills and class and left the cricket fans awestruck.
When it all started to go down for Shaw…
However, all the glory and appreciation didn’t last for long for Shaw as he was soon handed an 8-month ban when he inadvertently consumed Terbutaline, a banned substance when taking cough medicine. When he returned, his form abandoned him and a mere silhouette of his former self emerged hence resulting in a mediocre IPL.
It has been downhill since then for Prithvi Shaw as he failed to prove his mettle and position in India’s playing XI on the world stage. The opening batter had a mediocre outing in the India tour of New Zealand 2020 as in two Test matches, he registered scores of 16, 14, 54 and 14 respectively. This was followed by Shaw having a poor run in IPL 2020 and getting dropped from playing XI of Delhi Capitals.
The same continued for the young rookie in the Australia tour too as he looked fully out of sorts in the 1st Test of the Australia series and managed a meagre total of 4 runs in 2 innings. The underwhelming performance led to people posing questions on his technique and talent including severe trolling on social media.
“If he does have a chink in his armour it’s the ball which does come back into him…
“Quite often leaves a big gap between bat and pad and that’s where the Aussies will target.” @RickyPonting at his peerless best for the Prithvi Shaw wicket #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/4nh67zBcpU
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 17, 2020
As Shaw failed to produce results, many cricket analysts and pundits pointed out the flaw in the youngster’s batting technique and reckoned that if he didn’t work on his skills, then he might not be able to survive in the international circuit. It has been excessively publicised that he is endangered to the nip-backer due to his gargantuan gap between bat and pad.
But the big question here is ‘What Next for Prithvi Shaw?’ The only way for the 21-year-old is to improve his game and be consistent in doing hard-work to improve his technique and be physically and mentally fit.
