The young Indian protege, Prithvi Shaw has often been compared with India’s “god of cricket” Sachin Tendulkar, but now he is concentrating more on cementing his place in the national side. Despite having flourishing start to his career when he became the youngest Indian to score a century on debut at 18 years, 10 months, and 25 days, Shaw has followed a rocky path since his ankle injury in Australia. 

Talking about Shaw, former Indian opener, Wasim Jaffer said, “He is a special talent and I am a little disappointed with the way things have taken its course after his ankle injury and then his ban for using the banned substance. He is living in that Indian circle where he has got role models like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan who are so disciplined.”

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Shaw, who has played four Tests and three ODIs, grabbed a lot of limelight when he smashed 546 off 330 balls in 2013 at the age of 14 in a school competition. That evoked memories of Tendulkar’s 326 not out in his 664-run partnership with Vinod Kambli in the same tournament, the Harris Shield, in 1988. Comparisons have been made ever since.

Prithvi has gone on to acknowledge that there is a downside to being constantly likened to Tendulkar, a hero among cricket fans who hold the record for runs in Tests and one-day internationals. However, Jaffer said Shaw has to be mentally equipped to deal with the pressures, like any international star.

Jaffer explained, “Whenever you perform at the top level, the media and the people hype you so much, but it is an individual’s responsibility to learn. Virat keeps himself grounded. Every rising batsman in Mumbai circles is right away compared to Tendulkar. Everything boils down to performance.”

Shaw, who was only eight when he first met Tendulkar, said he regards the batting legend as a mentor and sometimes speaks to him about the mental challenges of the game.

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During the live chat on Instagram, Shaw said, “Now also whenever I go for practice, if Sachin Sir is there to watch me, he will talk, not much technically but mentally more.”