India’s talented opener Prithvi Shaw, who smashed a double hundred on his return to competitive cricket, on Thursday said he was eager to get back to form quickly after spending eight months in the wilderness out of action due to a doping offence.

“I had a lot of things in my mind. I had to beat all those things. I was hungry for runs for last three months (when he was banned). A lot of people pushed, supported me (in this time),” Shaw, who made a match-winning 202 in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy opener against Baroda, said to the reporters. “You can’t say that I wasted my ban period. I utilised it for training. Somewhere in my mind, I was keen to get back to my best form as soon as I returned from my ban.”

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He was the chief guest at the prize distribution function of the MIG Cricket Club, where he felicitated spinner Atharva Ankolekar, who is in the Indian squad for the U-19 World Cup in South Africa. Prithvi Shaw said he wanted to build his innings and that’s what he did against Baroda.

“The good thing was that I managed to continue even after getting my hundred. I was a bit slow between 100 to 150, because I wanted to build my innings, and play a big knock,” he said.

Shaw said after reaching his maiden 200, “I felt great. It came at the right time. I used to get out a lot of times between 100 and 150, which a lot of people have pointed out. I too felt that they were not wrong. So, it was a very good thing for me that I converted my hundred into a double hundred.”

Prithvi Shaw, who led India successfully in the U-19 World Cup in 2018, also gave tips to Ankolekar who is all set to play in the U-19 World Cup.