Returning to competitive cricket after completing a ban, Prithvi Shaw scored a fifty and says he is now completely focused on scoring more runs which will ensure his return to the Indian team. In his first comeback game, Shaw made a quickfire 39-ball 63 to help Mumbai win over Assam by 83 runs in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game.
“Now I will focus on scoring as many runs as possible and win games for the team,” said Shaw. “I will just keep scoring runs. It is all about the selectors and what they think. My job is to score runs and win games for the team.”
Prithvi Shaw, who had a dream Test debut with a century and a fifty in the two matches he has played so far, has no other option left but to score plenty of runs to reclaim his Test spot as current India test openers Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal have been in formidable form. While talking about the ban period, Prithvi Shaw said the time was hard and upsetting as well.
“I had never thought that something like this would happen. I was obviously upset. For the first 20-25 days after I was banned, I was not able to understand how did it happen,” he said.
“Time passed by. I went to London and chilled out there as I was not allowed to practice till September 15. After that I stabilised myself and kept myself mentally stronger by telling myself these three months would pass. But each day was hard, it was getting longer. It’s all past now,” he added.
Shaw shared Rahul Dravid’s impact in his return as well.
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“There was nothing in my mind. I couldn’t have done anything about the ban. After returning from London, Rahul (Dravid) sir called me to the NCA for training. There I went through a series of fitness tests like yo-yo,” he said.
“Under Rahul sir a lot of focus was on fitness. I had to clear all my fitness tests. What also helped was that during the nets good bowlers were available like Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvi (Bhuvaneshwar Kumar) and Varun Aaron. Besides, Rahul sir was always there for guidance and mental issues,” he expressed.
He again said that apart from his father Pankaj Shaw, a lot of other cricketers and coaches have also supported him during his tough time.
“A lot of people were asking me about my well-being. I got a lot of love and support from a lot of people. A lot of players, coaches, my agency people, Indian Oil people, BCCI and MCA guys were asking how was I feeling,” he said.
“There obviously was a period when I was not feeling too well. But then as the day of return came closer, I started to get my acts together. If I had gone into a shell at that point of time (ban) I would have felt pressure. But whatever happens it’s for good,” he further added.
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“I think this period has been a big learning experience for me. Obviously I committed a mistake. I had no idea what I was consuming,” he said. “In that period I was alone and was trying to stay away from people and their advices. I was telling myself that I can get out of this mess and be mentally strong.”
Shaw, however, said that his father was always there with him during his hard time.
“In life ups and downs will be there. My father has stood behind me and nobody else is there. In these three months he was with me like he has been during the U-14 and U-16 days. He felt that he needed to be with me,” he concluded.
