It’s going from bad to worse for Prithvi Shaw. The age at which he should be dominating in international cricket, the opener isn’t even getting selected for his domestic team. And he himself is to blame for it. Touted as one of the most gifted batters, a few years ago, everything was going as planned. Before turning 19, Prithvi had made his Team India debut. Yet six years later, he’s played a grand total of 12 matches.
“We were forced to hide Prithvi Shaw”, says MCA official
The issues are for everyone to see. The biggest of which is fitness. He’s gained weight, which affected not just his fielding but also his batting. The issue isn’t weight but the unwillingness to get back to fitness. This was one of the major reasons why the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) didn’t select him for the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2024-25.
Prithvi has a splendid List A record and lashed out on social media after his non-selection. But the MCA has a solid reason behind the snub. “In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, we were playing with 10 fielders as we were forced to hide Prithvi Shaw. The ball would pass near him, and he would barely be able to get to it,” an MCA official told PTI.
He expanded that the board has drawn a line. Everyone recognises that Prithvi’s a naturally gifted cricketer, but that doesn’t mean he’ll get leeway time after time. That too after he’s shown an unwillingness to change for the better. “Even while batting, we could see he was troubled reaching to the ball. His fitness, discipline, and attitude are poor, and it is pretty simple: there cannot be different rules for different players,” he added.
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Ajinkya Rahane, Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy captain, along with the MCA, had decided that he should be dropped midway through the red-ball tournament until he gets back on track. Prithvi was given a fitness regime to follow, but according to the MCA official, “He is not following that as well properly.”
Recently, Shreyas Iyer, Mumbai’s VHT and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) captain, expressed frustration over Prithvi’s disciplinary issues. Soon after winning the SMAT title, Shreyas explained how Prithvi had been told what was expected from him and that no one would babysit him.
The MCA official echoed this. He stated, “Even the seniors in the team have started complaining about his attitude now,” he added. It looks like the way back for Prithvi will be tough. No one seems to be on his side, and once again for that, the blame must fall on him.
Unwillingness to change
Despite knowing all of this, it is revealed that Prithvi was out partying until “six in the morning” during SMAT. This was despite a flurry of low scores and everyone at him for his lack of work ethic and discipline. Instead of proving them wrong, Prithvi just amplified what everyone was saying.
“I’ll tell you one thing. No one is Shaw’s enemy. He is his own enemy,” the MCA official concluded.
