IND v SL 2021: Will this be Prithvi Shaw's comeback series for India?

It’s not every day that an 18-year-old gets handed their maiden Test cap by Virat Kohli, unless it’s Prithvi Shaw. A young and raw Shaw was thrown into the wilderness of international Test cricket in a home series against West Indies in 2018. To say he was impressive is an understatement.

Prithvi Shaw finished his debut match as the second-youngest Indian since the great Sachin Tendulkar to score a Test century, and the youngest Indian to score a century on Test debut.

Prithvi Shaw celebrates his maiden Test century on debut

Interestingly, it wasn’t the first time he’d broken a record owned by Sachin Tendulkar. 2017 saw 17-year-old Shaw become the youngest player to score a century on Duleep Trophy debut, a record previously held by Tendulkar as well.

The aftermath of a spectacular debut meant Shaw was soon compared to some of the greats of the game. “There's a bit of Sachin, a bit of Viru, and when he walks, there's a bit of Lara as well” is how an overwhelmed Ravi Shastri described the young prodigy soon after India whitewashed the Windies 2-0. While compliments of such magnitude may be easy on the ears, to live up to them is the difficult part.

Prithvi Shaw’s twenties didn’t kick off to the best of starts. He went from being hailed as Virender Sehwag, Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar in 2018, to being dropped like a plummeting stock after one Test in Australia, during the Border-Gavaskar Test series in 2020/21.

The 21-year-old was made to open the batting for India against premium Aussie pacers like Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in only his second away Test series. Once again, he was thrown into the wilderness, but his failure to tame the swinging ball was on display, for every viewer, analyst and commentator to prey on.

There’s no denying that Shaw was an unfinished piece of art. His successive twin dismissals exposed technical challenges that demanded more than just rectification.

In six away innings, Shaw scored a paltry 102 runs. That is perhaps why he didn't even get a second Test in Australia, as what he faced was some high-quality bowling in challenging conditions.

Needless to say, the added pressure that comes with being an opener is immense, to say the least. Shaw tended to use minimal foot movement and played with just his hands, causing him to use his feet late. This is a common sight for players when the ball moves a lot, but starts to trouble when the same minimal foot movement opens up the off-side.

However, Shaw’s dismissals were an inaccurate reflection of his batting capabilities, one that goes far beyond his shortcomings against the red ball. But such is Indian cricket, an overpopulated structure with no space for forgiveness, even if you were once hailed as the next great of the game.

Prithvi Shaw was dropped after just one Test during the BGT series in 2020

Prithvi Shaw was sent back into the domestic circuit to prove himself again

Prithvi Shaw then returned to domestic cricket, where he was required to deconstruct his batting from scratch. But the youngster was eager to get back to his record-breaking ways, and within two months of his return to the domestic structure, he broke the record for the most runs in a single edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

He ended the tournament with 827 runs at a SR of 165.40, leading his team Mumbai to the title with three 150-plus scores under his belt. One of them was an unbeaten 227, illustrating his penchant for big scores.

It goes without mention that Prithvi Shaw’s difficulties in Australia cannot be compared to his explosive run in domestic cricket. The swinging conditions are far from what he faces in India and the opposition he faced is a world-class bowling attack.

But, it’s still early days for Shaw, an abundance of talent that has been smashing records to make them his own since age 14.

The upcoming series between India and Sri Lanka will be the ideal route for Prithvi Shaw to make his way back to the Indian side. Although his red-ball game still requires a bit of grooming, Shaw’s capabilities in limited-overs cricket are well known to one and all.

His recent white-ball numbers make a loud statement, one that should remind us that he is not a closed chapter. Like every youngster, he needs appropriate counseling and guidance to emerge stronger from the lows, and maintain a sense of level-headedness through the highs.

Prithvi Shaw with coach Rahul Dravid after winning the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2018

The coaching of Prithvi Shaw’s former under-19 coach for India, Rahul David, will prove to be vital for him this series. He previously coached the youngster during the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2018, as the Shaw-led India won the trophy for a record-setting fourth time.

Working on his batting under Dravid will definitely help Prithvi Shaw’s temperament and overall game, one that is stained by a reputation for being rusty and reckless overseas.