5 batsmen who started like Prithvi Shaw but faded away

What Prithvi Shaw achieved in his debut Test for India is the stuff cricketers dream of - making a mark in one's maiden game for their country is something that many budding players dream about.

His reputation preceded him when Shaw walked out to bat against West Indies, he had garnered a massive load of runs in the Mumbai domestic circuit. The start has gone his way and it's important that he continues to flourish in the same fashion.

The manner in which Shaw has started reminds us of the players who also shone on their debut, but somehow couldn't find a grip on their career and faded away.

Here are five batsmen who scored a century on debut like Shaw, but faded away.

#5 Hamish Rutherford

Ever since Stephen Fleming's retirement, New Zealand has looked for solidity at the top of the order, especially in the top three, as they are prone to collapsing in Tests. The departure of Brendon McCullum and the indifferent form of Martin Guptill for years now has hurt them too.

In such a scenario, Hamish Rutherford came as a breath of fresh air when he scored a 171 against England in 2013. The Kiwis would have thought they have a long-term prospect on their hands, but Rutherford couldn't carry on the momentum, and vanished after 15 more Tests, managing just one more fifty to his name.

Part of the same class of U-19 players as Virat Kohli, Rutherford was part of the New Zealand squad in the 2008 World Cup. His fortunes couldn't have been more different from the Indian captain, who continues to smash records for fun in world cricket across formats.

#4 Kirk Edwards

A Test century on debut against India was a dream come true for Kirk Edwards, who was one of the bright spots for the Windies team during their home 2011 series. Facing the likes of Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel, Edwards scored a century in the second innings of the 3rd Test, combining with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who himself scored a century.

Things did not go to plan after that, as Edwards struggled, even as the Windies team tried to find the right combination in the middle order. He scored one more century and eight half-centuries in the next 16 games he played, but found himself out of favour soon, and hasn't played for West Indies since 2014.

Given the current state of affairs, one wonders if the likes of Edwards, who scored a gutsy century on debut, could have been a good fit now.

#3 Fawad Alam

Pakistan's Fawad Alam was always meant to succeed at the top level - sadly, that hasn't materialised till now. Born to a former first-class cricketer, Fawad went up the ladder smoothly, representing Pakistan in U-19 cricket. The sailing seemed to be smooth, and he went on to score a century on debut against a nagging Sri Lankan bowling line-up in 2009.

Surprisingly (as is often the case with Pakistan cricket), he played only two more Tests after that, and was let go of. He hasn't played a single red-ball game for Pakistan since 2009, and last played for them in ODIs against Bangladesh in 2015.

At 33, his chances of making a comeback continue to dwindle as a new bunch of batsmen make their way into the Pakistan line-up.

#2 Praveen Amre

It's very rare that an Indian batsman, on debut, succeeds outside the subcontinent - while many remember Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and their deeds in England in 1996, not many might recall Praveen Amre's debut century, at No.6, against a South African bowling line-up that had the famed Indian batting down at 38-4.

Ramakant Achrekar, the famed coach to Sachin Tendulkar, had once claimed that Amre would be a better batsman than the Master Blaster someday.

The expectations might have taken a toll on him, but Amre's international career never took off. He now trains and consults some of India's top batsmen, and was the assistant coach for Delhi Daredevils when Prithvi Shaw debuted in the IPL this year.

One of Team India's biggest cases of 'could have'.

#1 Stiaan van Zyl

The Kolpak rule has taken many talented cricketers away from the South African side, and one of their brightest talents, who could have been the one for the future, was Stiaan van Zyl.

Before joining Sussex in 2017, he played 12 Tests for the Proteas, but was noted for his unbeaten century on debut for them against the West Indies at Centurion in 2014. He made bucketloads of runs in domestic cricket, and showed promise in his first game, but could not get a single 50+ score in his next 11 Tests.

He played the last of his 12 Tests in 2016, before realising that he would rather make his career in English county.

Yet, if he had continued in the same vein as his debut Test, South Africa could have been helped in closing the wound left by the departure of Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith.