It is no secret that Prithvi Shaw was dubbed as the wunderkind from Mumbai who would follow in the footsteps of the ‘God of Cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar. A string of impressive performances in domestic cricket at a tender age of just 15 years was enough for the fans and pundits to generate hype for the young lad. However, it seems like the burden of becoming the next Tendulkar took a toll on India’s most exciting prospect. Shaw has not represented India since 2021, where he played against Sri Lanka, where he got out for a duck.
So the question is, where is Prithvi Shaw now? To find out, we take a look at the hype surrounding him through the years.
A prodigy in the making
After a string of brilliant eye-catching performances at the domestic level including the Indian T20 League, Prithvi Shaw was given the green light to represent India in Test cricket. He scored an impressive 99-ball century against the West Indies to announce his arrival in a grand style. His debut ton was counted amongst the greats like Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag, who share similar achievements. The last Indian player to have done that was current Indian skipper Rohit Sharma back in 2013, also against the Windies.
Given the push across formats
Following the great success of Shaw in Test cricket and the Indian T20 League, he was given the nod to play for India in white-ball cricket as well. However, the prodigy came nowhere near his potential against other nations. Shaw debuted in ODI against New Zealand and scored 20 off 21 balls. He went on to play five more matches where he could only score a combined 169 runs.
Shaw was unable to cope with the responsibilities of international cricket and perhaps, the comparisons drawn with the Master Blaster. Although he once came very close to his first ODI fifty against Sri Lanka, scoring 49 in 49. However, an LBW snatched his ODI glory and he hasn’t played ODI with the Men in Blue since. Shaw’s last appearance for India came two days later in a T20I match against the Lions, which happened to be his debut in the format as well. However, even that was cut short as he went for a duck. This was Shaw’s last appearance for India across all formats.
Why the comparison with Tendulkar?
Prithvi Shaw somewhat shares the same physique as the Master Blaster. Short in height, a right-handed batter and right-arm off-break, such were the uncanny similarities between the two Mumbai-based players.
Sachin Tendulkar started his journey with the Men in Blue at a very young age. As we all know, the Master Blaster, then known as the Little Master, took his fair share of time getting used to the brutalities of international cricket. However, his success afterwards is for all to rejoice.
The resemblance in the origin stories between Prithvi Shaw’s and Tendulkar’s forced many to believe that it would work for the young player as well. It was anything but till now.
Where is Shaw now?
Shaw is still active in domestic cricket and has featured in Ranji Trophy as well as the Indian T20 League. He currently plays for Delhi in the Indian T20 League and fared well in the recently-concluded edition, amassing 283 runs. In domestic cricket, Shaw plays for Mumbai and is the captain of the team.
It was perhaps a smart choice to return to domestic cricket after falling out of favour for international responsibilities. With coach Rahul Dravid exploring different combinations of opening batters ahead of the T20 World Cup, it will be interesting to see if Prithvi Shaw will be considered for the role.
Also Read: India vs Hong Kong Asia Cup Review: India Grab Super Four Spot as Group Winners
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