Shaw-stopper shines in England
The U-19 tour of England was the first time that the 17-year-old Shaw was captaining the side.
The Indian Under-19 cricket team led by local lad Prithvi Shaw returned on Saturday after a thumping win against England. The series consisted of 5 one-days and two Tests where the Indian colts whitewashed the English youngsters 7-0 combined in both the format. City hero Prithvi was the highest run-getter in the Test series scoring 260-odd runs comprising two consecutive fifties in the opening test with scores 86 and 69.
“Although we practised in the pre-series Bangalore camp with the Dukes ball that is used in England, the conditions were a massive challenge upon us. The weather is way more different and the pitches have more bounce in England,” explains Prithvi. “You cannot just hit the ball when it comes because the swing is much more in English conditions.”
“Leading the team was a major responsibility for me as I was doing it for the first time. As we kept winning, the morale in camp got higher and higher. Our coach (W.B. Raman) was happy with the way I led the team in ODIs and his support was constant throughout,” he adds as he speaks about his tryst as the captain for one-days.
The U-19 tour of England was the first time that the 17-year-old Shaw was captaining the side. The colt’s swashbuckling performances in domestic have compared his style of play with Sachin Tendulkar by many critics of the game. On being asked about the U-19 World Cup which will take place in 2018, he expresses, “Currently, I am focusing on the domestic season which is close. There is still a lot of time to go for the World Cup and I have to keep performing to stay in contention for my spot in the team. If I keep performing and if I lead the team into similar results, only then I can think about being the captain of the side.”
Shaw earned applause when he scored a fearless 120 off 175 balls on his debut for Mumbai in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy against Tamil Nadu in the semi-finals. The determined Rizvi college boy resumed training on Monday for the coming season the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) Grounds at BKC. “I am feeling the jet-lag after coming back but I cannot let that affect my routine. I want to maintain my position in the first team for Mumbai and for that I have resumed the training,” he asserts.
The quest for the prestigious Ranji Trophy will begin on October 6 later this year with the Mumbai outfit looking for their titles number 42. It will not be a surprise if the young bombshell Prithvi Shaw features in the starting eleven for the team.