Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw, born on November 9, 1989, is a right-handed opening batsman who plays for Mumbai in Domestic cricket and Delhi Capitals in the IPL. He has also played for India as an opener in Test and ODI cricket. Prithvi is the second-youngest Indian cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar to score a Test century and the youngest Indian to do so on debut. He is also the only Indian to score a century on Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, and international debut.

His Nickname is “Prithvi Missile” and his favorite shot is the Cover drive. His hobbies are playing PlayStation and Billiards. His favorite cricketer is Sachin Tendulkar.

Prithvi did his schooling in A.V.S. Vidhya Mandir, Mumbai and Rizvi Springfield High School, Mumbai, and his college education at Rizvi College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai. He holds the record for being the first cricketer to score 500 in an innings at the Indian Schools cricket level. In 2017, he was awarded the “Best Junior Cricketer of the year” by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai.

With a flashy start in all levels of cricket at a young age, while possessing an abundance of talent, Prithvi Shaw is regarded as a cricketer full of promise and potential capable of doing big things in international cricket.

Family

Prithvi Shaw hails from a Hindu-Vaisya family and his father Pankaj Shaw raised him completely as his mother passed away when he was just age 4. Though Prithvi was born and brought up in Mumbai, his roots are from Gaya, Bihar.

Prithvi’s father made a lot of sacrifices for him to pursue his Cricketing career as he closed his Garment business to move to Mumbai from Virar for Prithvi to get closer to the MIG Ground, Bandra. It was only when Prithvi started getting scholarships did their financial crisis come to a halt. Prithvi’s father used to take him on a 70 Km ride between Virar and Mumbai for his cricket practice and acted as a practice bowler to him during that period.

It is for all the above that Prithvi Shaw is ever so thankful to his father to date on any interviews or shows.

Early age cricket and Under 19 Cricket World cup

Prithvi Shaw first made a mark when he became the first player to reach 500 in an inning in School’s cricket as captain of the Rizvi Springfield High school while scoring 546 in a Harry Shield Elite Cricket match. He captained them to two titles in 2012 and 2013 at age 13 and 14.  In 2012, he scored 155 in the Semifinals and 174 in the final helping his side lift the most prestigious Indian Youth cricket trophy.

Post this, he had several performances of note in England when he played for Cheadle Humle School in Manchester scoring a total of almost 1,500 runs in two months.

Prithvi Shaw made his first-class and List A debut in early 2017 at the Ranji Trophy and the Vijay Hazare trophy respectively. 

He made a magnificent 120 on his first-class debut against Tamil Nadu in the 4th innings helping Mumbai chase 251. He also made a century in his Duleep Trophy debut making him only the second Indian cricketer along with the Great Sachin Tendulkar to do so. Ever since he has been hailed as the next Sachin owing to his ominous start and elegant batting style.

Recently, Prithvi scored a fantastic 227 against Pondicherry in the Vijay Hazare trophy which is the highest individual score in the tournament’s history. He also ended the tournament with 827 total runs which are the most in a single season.

Prithvi Shaw was bought by the Delhi Daredevils in January 2018 at the IPL auction based on his tremendous showing at the first class and domestic level. He was also appointed as the captain of the World cup winning Under 19 Indian team of 2018.

Shaw had a terrific tournament finishing with 261 runs at an average of 65 and a strike rate of 94 while also leading his troops admirably.

In the 2018 IPL Season, Shaw became the youngest batsman to open in IPL history at age 18 and stroked a brisk 10 ball 22. Later in that IPL, he also went on to become the youngest player to score an IPL half-century against the Kolkata Knight Riders, joining Sanju Samson.

With a magnificent start in all forms of domestic cricket at such a young age, Prithvi Shaw was seen as one to look out for in the future to replicate the role played by Virender Sehwag.

Debut in Indian Cricket Team

Following Prithvi Shaw’s exploits at the first-class level and the Under 19 World cup in 2018, he was named in the Indian test squad for the final two tests in England in August 2018. Although he did not play on that tour, he was named to the Test squad for the subsequent West Indies tests.

Shaw made his debut in the first test of the series and smashed a breathtaking 134 off just 154 balls with shots all along the ground. In the process, he became the youngest Indian batsman to make a century-on debut at age 18. His pummeling of the West Indian bowlers helped India win by an innings and 272 runs. He followed it up with another scintillating 53 balls 70 in the second test as India won the series 2-0 and Prithvi was named the Man of the series in his maiden international series.

With a batting style full of aggression and elegance, Prithvi was starting to be looked at as the Next Sehwag of Indian Cricket. In January 2020, Shaw made his ODI debut in the tour of New Zealand and got off to a good start making 20 before falling. He followed it up with a 24 and a 40 in the next two ODI’s showing enough promise before failing to convert it into a score of substance.

Breakthrough Inning

Prithvi Shaw earned his first international opportunity in the first test against West Indies and it also happened to be his best inning to date for India. He broke through right away showcasing an ability to handle the international cricket pressure while also going through the long grind of Test cricket.

His 134 on debut came on the back of numerous records he broke right from School level to the Domestic ranks and also made waves around the world as his path was being compared in terms of batting style and accolades at such a young age to Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

Usually, a young batsman takes time before breaking through with a big knock, but in Prithvi’s case, he displayed all the traits of a skillful batsman on debut itself.

With such a positive approach to batting even in test cricket at such a young age, India is hopeful that Prithvi Shaw can be a match-winner for many years to come by creating an intimidation factor for the Opposition.

Future in Cricket

Prithvi Shaw is still only 21 years old yet already has made a mark in the international arena and the IPL. Although his technique was found wanting in testy conditions in New Zealand and Australia, he is expected to bounce back given his irresistible talent and aggression. He has started working on tightening his technique with mentors such as Tendulkar and Dravid.

Since being dropped in Australia in 2020, he has already made his case for returning to the Indian setup with a fabulous Vijay Hazare trophy in early 2021 that earned him a spot in the Indian squad for the ODI and T20’s in Sri Lanka later in 2021.

He was also having his best IPL season to date displaying greater consistency coupled with the ability to play match-winning performances as he averaged 38.50 at an incredible strike rate of 166 before the season was postponed. With huge expectations to be one of the men to take Indian cricket to insurmountable heights in the future in all formats, Prithvi Shaw’s rare gifts of timing and shots of all variety coupled with an attacking mindset at a very early age bode well for the future of Indian c