Prithvi Shaw a phenomenal player but needs to convert starts: Aakash Chopra

Former India player Aakash Chopra has described young opener, Prithvi Shaw, as a phenomenal player. He, however, expressed disappointment that the attacking batsman could not convert his starts in the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Prithvi Shaw played in all three games of the one-day series against Sri Lanka. He kicked off the series with a swashbuckling 43 off 24 balls and then followed that up with scores of 13 and 49.

According to Chopra, while Shaw looked attractive during his stay out in the middle, he should have registered bigger scores. Analysing the 21-year-old’s performance in the series, Chopra said on his YouTube channel:

“I like Prithvi Shaw; he is a phenomenal player. He played two good knocks in the first and third ODI. He has been in swashbuckling form, and that’s the only way he knows to bat - going hard at the bowling. The beauty of Prithvi Shaw’s batting is that when he hits the ball, it mostly races through the gaps in the field. As long as he is at the crease, batting seems like a breeze. You feel like applauding his strokes; Prithvi Shaw is that kind of a player.”

“But Prithvi Shaw will be upset with one aspect of his game. He got good starts in two of the three matches. In the first match, India were not chasing a big total, and Prithvi Shaw had enough time to play a long innings. In the third ODI, India batted first, and he again had time on his hands to build a big score. There was no pressure as such both times, yet Prithvi Shaw fell before crossing the half-century mark.”

Prithvi Shaw falls just one run short of what would have been his maiden ODI fifty!India are 102/2 in the 16th over.#SLvIND | https://t.co/eLmZty22kE pic.twitter.com/FVTCVSFctX

— ICC (@ICC) July 23, 2021

Chopra emphasised that while Shaw doesn’t need to change his style of play, he can make a greater impact with bigger scores. The former opener explained:

“Playing blazing and audacious strokes looks great out in the middle. At the end of the day though, the youngster needs to remember that batsmen who score 100-150 make a bigger impact in the game, and selectors find it difficult to ignore such performances. Prithvi Shaw was a positive no doubt, but he needs to work on converting starts.”

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Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav likely to join Indian squad in England: Reports

Reports have emerged that Prithvi Shaw, along with Suryakumar Yadav and Jayant Yadav, are likely to join the Indian Test squad in England.

Shaw, who last played a Test match during India’s disastrous outing in Adelaide, is likely to be flown to England as a replacement for Shubman Gill. The latter is back in India after suffering a shin injury.

Shaw has played five Tests so far and has scored 339 runs at an average of 42.37 with one hundred and two fifties.

Sri Lanka win! 🇱🇰The hosts register only their second win in the last 10 ODIs as they beat 🇮🇳 by 3 wickets in the final game of the series 💥The visitors, however, win the ODI series 2-1 👏📸 ICC#IND #TeamIndia #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/ddte5dZqGk

— Sportskeeda India (@Sportskeeda) July 23, 2021

Gill apart, all-rounder Washington Sundar and fast bowler Avesh Khan have suffered finger injuries. Suryakumar Yadav and Jayant Yadav have been sought as replacements by the Indian management in England, according to a report in The Indian Express.