Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was surprised at talented India batter Prithvi Shaw’s shocking downfall after a promising start, resulting in him going unsold at the recent IPL 2025 auction as well. The 25-year-old enjoyed a stunning start to his cricketing career, leading the Indian Under-19 team to glory in 2018 as well. Shaw then debuted for India in Tests in 2018 and scored 134 in his maiden international innings. His IPL career started in a similar way before the dramatic drop-off over the past few seasons as well.

Speaking about Shaw’s IPL auction snub, Harbhajan told News18: “I don’t know what happened, but whatever did, I feel this is something Prithvi Shaw will need to take stock of and decide how to approach his career going forward. Such things either make or break a career, and it’s up to Shaw to decide which road he wants to take. It’s very tough for any player to digest that he’s gone unsold at the auction. And this a player who people said is as talented as Tendulkar.”

“Our problem is that they started comparing him so early with a player as big as him [Sachin]. You put pressure on the player. But with Prithvi Shaw, there are many more factors than just cricket,” he again shared.

However, Harbhajan Singh hoped Prithvi Shaw would work on his fitness and bounce back strongly from this tough period. He also called on the youngster to look up to Virat Kohli for inspiration to improve his fitness as well.

“I hope he emerges out of this setback stronger. Work hard on his fitness; he’s a very young guy. Must be around 24-25. He can go a long way if he focusses on his fitness. Because the Prithvi Shaw that we saw and the version of him we are seeing now – even size-wise – he clearly has ignored his fitness. Whereas, look at the fitness of Team India players, and it reflects on the ground. If he needs to look up to someone, make sure it’s Virat Kohli,” concluded Harbhajan Singh.