Prithvi Shaw credits Rahul Dravid for his successful comeback to competitive cricket 

What's the story?

Prithvi Shaw expressed his views after making a fantastic comeback to competitive cricket against Assam on the 17th of November. The 20-year-old thanked Rahul Dravid for helping him during his time off the field while he also felt that the presence of quality bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Aaron helped him in practicing at the National Cricket Academy.

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The background

pic.twitter.com/KXYHcUcBR0

— Prithvi Shaw (@PrithviShaw) July 30, 2019

Shaw had received a back-dated eight-month suspension for violating the doping policy earlier this year. This punishment ruled him out of all competitive cricket tournaments until mid-November 2019.

As per the report, Shaw had consumed a prohibited substance, which is generally found in cough syrups. The right-handed batsman had issued an apology whilst also stating that he had unknowingly breached the rule.

He made his comeback for Mumbai on the 17th of November in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2019-20. The Delhi Capitals star smashed 63 runs off just 39 deliveries to guide Mumbai to an emphatic win.

Welcome back! He is making a comeback today and @PrithviShaw makes it a memorable one with a fine-half century for Mumbai against Assam in @Paytm #MushtaqAliT20. pic.twitter.com/hiBfiElhed

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) November 17, 2019

The heart of the matter

After helping Mumbai defeat Assam, Shaw took part in an interview where he reflected on his suspension and revealed his future goals. He said:

I will just keep scoring runs. It is all about the selectors and what they think. My job is to score runs and win games for the team.

He further spoke about his mindset when he received the ban and added,

I had never thought that something like this would happen. I was obviously upset. For the first 20-25 days after I was banned, I was not able to understand how did it happen.

The opener, who had made his Test debut against West Indies in 2018 disclosed that he had gone to London to divert his mind and after returning to India, he trained under Dravid at the NCA.

After returning from London, Rahul (Dravid) sir called me to the NCA for training. There I went through a series of fitness tests like yo-yo. Under Rahul sir a lot of focus was on fitness. I had to clear all my fitness tests. What also helped was that during the nets good bowlers were available like Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvi and Varun Aaron. Besides, Rahul sir was always there for guidance and mental issues.

What's next?

Prithvi will continue to play for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy while he was also recently retained by his IPL franchise, Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2020 Auction.