File photo of Prithvi Shaw.© BCCI
Prithvi Shaw is certainly going through the toughest time in his cricket career. The right-handed batter, once touted to be the “next Sachin Tendulkar“, could not find any takers at the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia held last month. The 2018 U-19 World Cup-winning captain was seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket, but his downfall in the past few years has taken him out of consideration for the Indian cricket team. Shaw was even dropped from Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy squad before going unsold at the IPL auction at a base price of Rs 75 lakh. He is currently playing for Mumbai in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but has failed to impress with his game so far.
Ex-BCCI selector Jatin Paranjape feels that the youngster needs a “complete overhaul of his mental thinking”. Paranjape shared his opinions in his column for Sportstar.
Paranjape, who also holds the experience of playing 4 ODIs for India besides appearing in 62 First-Class and 44 List A games, also pointed out that Shaw needs to lose some weight to get fitter.
“If I were Prithvi, I would quickly evaluate and conclude that fitness is a major missing piece in his game. Without it, his future in cricket is uncertain. I would stress this aspect: if he can lose between 7 to 10 kilograms of body weight without losing strength, that would be a crucial start,” the former BCCI selector said.
“If I were in his position, I would camp in Chennai with Ramji Srinivasan for 10 days and completely dedicate the next two or three years to this transformation. The results would begin to show in the next 45 to 60 days,” he added.
Paranjape further said that Shaw needs to improve his game against spin and make sure he doesn’t lose his wicket easily.
“Let’s move on to the skills part. I have often told him that he seems overly generous with his wicket, particularly against spinners. Almost every domestic spinner in India has managed to get him out. He needs to reevaluate his game against spin,” he said.
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