Prithvi Shaw is one of the most talented Indian openers to come through the ranks in recent times. The swashbuckling opener burst onto the scene after playing a marathon 546-runs inning in a Shield match and since then has only got better and better.
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Coming from the furnace of Mumbai’s Cricketing monastery of Shivaji Park, Prithvi Shaw has carved a unique identity for himself over the years. Dubbed as the apprentice of great Sachin Tendulkar by some, Prithvi Shaw is the perfect amalgamation of the exquisiteness of Sachin Tendulkar and the flamboyance of Virender Sehwag. Shaw’s unique high-backlift gives him the superior advantage of playing through the line on the bouncy SENA pitches.
Prithvi Shaw’s career catapulted to prominence after his marathon 546-run inning in the Harris Shield Trophy in 2012. The inning brought a lot of spotlight and adulation to little Shaw who in April of the same year was invited to play for Cheadle Hulme School in Manchester, England. During his two-month stay there, he scored almost 1,500 runs and took 68 wickets.
In 2014, he played for the Yorkshire ECB County Premier League for the entire summer and mustered up impressive performances.
In November 2016, Shaw was part of the India Under-19 squad that won the youth Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. Two months later, Shaw made his first-class debut in the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy in 2016-17. He ended up scoring a century in the second innings of the match and made a permanent place in the Mumbai side.
In 2017, he scored his first century at the Under-19 level in his fifth match only. His performances over the years have led to several comparisons to Sachin Tendulkar and he is seen as a future superstar for India.
Prithvi Shaw for long had been touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket and judging by that Delhi Capitals bought him at a jaw-dropping price of 1.2 Crores during the auction.
Prithvi Shaw showed that he was worth every penny spent by the franchise as he amassed 245 runs in 9 matches during IPL 2018 with an imposing strike-rate of 153.12.
However, he had a rather sedate IPL 2019 where he could only muster 353 runs in 16 innings. However, his highest IPL score of 99 came in the same season. The coming 2020 IPL will be a chance for Prithvi Shaw to stage a comeback and show the world that he still is the prodigal-talent.
On the back of impressive performances in the domestic set-up, the Mumbai lad was called up to India’s Test squad in August 2018 for the final two Tests against England. However, he did not got the chance to show his prowess in the overseas tour.
Prithvi Shaw got the chance to don the white flannels one month later against West Indies in the home series. And playing his first match, Prithvi Shaw smacked a century and became the youngest Indian player to hit a Test century on debut and second-youngest player to hit a Test century after Sachin Tendulkar.
Shaw was even picked for 2018 down under tour but during one of the warm-up games suffered from a freak injury. Whilst taking a catch on the cow corner, Shaw twisted his ankle and had limber off the field and ultimately had to drop out of the series.
He was picked again for the 2020 tour of New Zealand cricket team but could not muster up any big score as he finished the two-match Test series with a tally of 98 runs under his belt. Severe criticism had followed Prithvi Shaw as Kiwi bowlers repeatedly bounced him out during the course of the series.
After recovering from the freak ankle injury and the 18-month ban for doping, Prithvi Shaw was selected for the India tour of New Zealand. On February 5, 2020, Prithvi Shaw for the first time donned the blue colors. Prithvi Shaw could only manage 20 runs in his first outing and the rest of the series was also somewhat sedate by Shaw’s own standards.
Prithvi Shaw was appointed the captain of the Under-19 team in December 2017 for the Under-19 World Cup slated to be held in 2018. With an able coach like Rahul Dravid by his side, Prithvi Shaw rallied his team to the finals of the tournament and finally lifted the trophy. Prithvi Shaw was the captain when India beat Australia by 8 wickets to win its fourth Under-19 World Cup.
Prithvi Shaw’s lost his mother at a very young age and it was his father Pankaj Shaw that looked after him and ensured that the prodigal-kid utilized his full potential. His father gave up his business and moved to Mumbai from Virar in 2006 in a bid to get Shaw closer to the MIG ground in Bandra. In 2010, retired Mumbai spinner Nilesh Kulkarni spotted Shaw and got his sports management company to sign him up for INR 300,000 per annum.
