Prithvi Shaw has been left out of the Mumbai squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Tripura. Although Mumbai City has not officially revealed the reason for his exclusion, reports suggest that Shaw has been directed to work on his fitness and the decision to exclude him comes as part of a bid to sort out disciplinary matters against the 24-year-old. It is also a subtle warning.
Prithvi Shaw’s career was ruined by off-field issues. (HT_PRINT)
Shaw missed the Mumbai conditioning camp in Bangalore and the Buchi Babu Trophy in Chennai in July. He started the domestic season by scoring 76 runs in the second innings of the Iran Trophy match between Mumbai and India. The match ended in a draw and Mumbai won the trophy with an early lead. In the Ranji Trophy, Shaw scored scores of 7 and 12 in Mumbai’s loss to Baroda, followed by 1 and 39* off 36 balls in the nine-wicket win over Maharashtra.
According to Cricbuzz, the Mumbai selectors and team management felt Shaw was overweight. They are also angry at him for not taking net practice seriously. While captain Ajinkya Rahane, who has a storied international career, and Indian stars Shreyas Iyer and Shardul Thakur have been consistent in the nets, Shaw has reportedly been absent from practice. Even if they do participate, they tend to take it lightly and get it done cheaply. According to Cricbuzz, Rahane and head coach Omkar Salvi agreed with the selectors regarding the decision to drop Shaw.
The Indian Express further reported that Shaw was asked to undergo a two-week fitness program prepared by trainers from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Team management told MCA that the 24-year-old player’s body contains 35 percent fat.
The meteoric rise and fall of Prithvi Shaw
Once considered one of the world’s brightest young talents, Shaw’s career has been in limbo as he struggled with discipline and fitness, and allegations that he was stalked everywhere. Shaw has also been the subject of a number of off-field issues, including getting into a brawl at a nightclub in February 2023 and being followed and then manhandled. Shaw was suspended for several months by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2019 for doping violations.
Shaw became the second player after Sachin Tendulkar to score a century on debut in the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. He made his international debut in the first Test against West Indies in October 2018, hitting 134 off 154 balls and scoring a century in the first innings itself. Shaw, who was 18 years and 319 days old at the time, was the youngest Indian to score a century on Test debut, making him the second youngest player from his country to achieve the milestone after Tendulkar.
However, his performances slumped, and his last Test appearance was in the first Test against Australia in December 2020, where he was dismissed for a duck in the first innings and conceded four runs in the second innings. Shaw played in five Tests with one century and two half-centuries, scoring 339 runs at an average of 42.37. He has only played one T20I for India and that time he was going for a duck. Shaw played in six ODIs and scored 189 runs at an average of 31.50, while his strike rate was an impressive 113.85.
Shaw is only 24 years old and has displayed his versatility on the domestic circuit many times since his last Test appearance. He was an integral part of the Mumbai team that won the Ranji Trophy last season. Shaw especially scored a 383-ball 379 against Assam in January 2023.
