Former India cricketer turned renowned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has requested the fans not to put pressure on the young and talented opener, Prithvi Shaw following his match-winning knock against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Manjrekar applauded Shaw for an impactful knock and added that India couldn’t have lost the game with the stunning shows from the players.
“I hope we don’t, typically like we do in India, put pressure on a young player, saying he has got to get a hundred,” Manjrekar told Sony Sports. “That 40 (43) he got today put India in a winning position after that; India wasn’t going to lose even if they tried.”
He continued: “I am happy with him getting 40s and 50s at the strike rate, provided there is enough batting after that. And it seemed like he wasn’t looking to play that way, but it was just happening. Ishan Kishan played a little differently, bordering on being frenetic.”
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However, he also said that the innings that Prithvi Shaw has played was nothing short of a statement as well. He smashed a swashbuckling knock and helped India provide with a flying start as well.
“Eventually, he will start getting the big scores, but I don’t think the pressure should be put on him straight away that he has got to convert his starts into hundreds. Getting a hundred in ODI cricket, if you’re a good player batting at the top, you get hundreds. But winning is important. The impact of Prithvi Shaw’s innings, India chased down the target of 263 with 13.2 overs to spare. That’s a statement,” Sanjay Manjrekar further added.
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Notably, Prithvi Shaw smashed 43 off 24 balls after returning to the Indian team. Shaw, who had a poor outing in Tests in Australia, has returned in form during the domestic season earlier this year. Since then he has been scoring at a good pace. And, it won’t be a surprise if he manages to seal his place in the team for the all-important T20 World Cup later this year.
