Prithvi Shaw was hailed as the next Sachin Tendulkar. A talented attacking batter of short stature from Mumbai. After he made a hundred on his Test debut in 2018, Ravi Shastri, India’s then-head coach, said this about him: “When he bats, there is a bit of Sachin, a bit of Viru. When he walks, there is a bit of Lara as well.”
8 years later, Prithvi has been forced to switch states after Mumbai moved on from him. Fitness concerns, questions over work ethic, and a flurry of controversies have followed him. Coaches, selectors, and captains have criticised him at various times for these very reasons.
He’s turning a new page with Maharashtra, but at one point in 2025, Prithvi hadn’t played in a competitive game in 8 months. Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh, and Riyan Parag played under him at the Under-19 World Cup for India. All of them are superstars now, while he’s just a vague memory.
Prithvi Shaw went the Vinod Kambli way
What happened? According to Yograj Singh, Prithvi strayed from the path. He bought into his hype. Wasn’t humble enough to the sport that had given him all. The former Indian cricketer compared Prithvi to another forgotten former star, Vinod Kambli.
“Why did Prithvi Shaw go downhill? It happened with Vinod Kambli before him. It was because of parties, womanising, cigarettes, and drinking. I once asked Kambli, ‘What are you, son?’ You have so much talent. You are coming to your room at 2.30 in the night. He said, ‘Your days are over, and we’re playing a different kind of cricket now.’ The next morning, Courtney Walsh bowled him, and India lost the match. Then the girl he was with left him, and no one offered him cigarettes and alcohol,” Yograj Singh said on Sports Launchpad by Saurav Yaduvanshi.
Yograj claimed that both were sucked into stardom. Instead of continuing to work with their head down, both decided to have too much fun. To party till late, drink, and do all kinds of things that cricketers shouldn’t do. And the results for everyone to see. Last year, Prithvi even admitted that he neglected cricket.
“The same happened with Shaw. When you go to parties, womanise, drink, and are in bad company, the same will happen to you as happened to them,” he said while cautioning budding cricketers.
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