The Indian head coach Ravi Shastri reckons that in the young Prithvi Shaw he sees some shreds of cricketing greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Brian Lara. However, he still wants the young prodigy to keep working hard and setting long-term goals for himself. Shaw made his international debut during recently concluded 2-match Test series against the Windies and was named the Man of the Series as he scored 237 runs at an average 118.5.
Shaw announced himself to the Test arena with a breathtaking century in Rajkot. He also became the second youngest Indian batsman to smash the winning runs for his team in Hyderabad. Shaw was roped into the national squad back in England, during the 5-match Test series which India lost 1-4.
When the selectors picked the side for the Windies series, Shaw was almost assured of making his debut as both of India’s usual Test openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay was dropped. The prodigy grabbed the opportunity with both his hands as he scored a century on Day 1 of his Test career. Speaking after India completed a 2-0 whitewash over the Windies in Hyderabad, head coach, Shastri said, “Shaw was born to play cricket. You can see the years he has already put in at the age of 18. I believe he’s been playing since he was eight. That’s already a decade.”
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He further added, “When I saw him first, he reminded me a bit of Sachin, and a bit of Viru – and when he walks, there’s a bit of Lara. If he can keep his head on his shoulders and keep the work ethic, he has a bright future.”
It has been a tough journey for the youngster as he used to travel for over 3 hours daily to play his cricket in his young days. His father made various sacrifices to ensure his son was able to concentrate on the sport. Now, he is getting rich dividends of those hard hours as after scoring the humungous amount of runs at school and domestic level, he has broken into higher teams. Earlier this year, he led India U19 to yet another World Cup victory and subsequently received an opportunity to represent his nation in the longest format of the game.
After receiving the Man of the Series award, Shaw said, “It was a happy moment for me, finishing a game for India. It’s a moment of pride. My first international series and winning it 2-0 with a man of the series award is a great feeling. Everyone is like a family now – it’s not like a junior and senior situation anymore. I don’t know what’s happening next, I’m just enjoying this moment. I want to win the World Cup of the team.”
