A century on Ranji Trophy debut, a century on Duleep Trophy debut, and a century on international Test debut. That’s Prithvi Shaw for you. The 18-year-old recently stepped in the stadium with the Indian emblem on his chest on October 4 and knocked the opposition off after scoring his maiden Test hundred against West Indies in just 99 deliveries.
With the experience of just 14 first-class games, Shaw managed to get his national call at Test matches against England during the England tour. However, Shaw was not included in the playing XI and was benched for the time. But when the prodigy received his chance against West Indies, he encashed upon the opportunity and made a mark.
In the Duleep Trophy Final between India Red and India Blue, Prithvi Shaw scored a century on his debut and emulated the little master Sachin Tendulkar. Since then, Shaw had indicated that he had shown tremendous potential to make it international someday. Shaw’s ability to score at knockout matches is what has made him a unique batsman and a great player.
For example, two years ago, young Prithvi Shaw registered his maiden century on debut to drive Mumbai to the finals of the Ranji Trophy. Mumbai were chasing 256 and Shaw scored a match-winning 120 which earned him the ‘Man of the Match’ award.
However, his greatest achievement came after he was offered the captaincy of the U-19 team in 2017 for the U-19 World Cup 2018. He led India in the final where they beat Australia by 8 wickets to win their fourth Under-19 World Cup. Not only did he lead his team towards the title, but also finished the tournament with 261 runs to his account, with an average of 65.25.
While several people call him the next Tendulkar, former cricketer Kumar Sangakkara had stated that instead of comparing him with Tendulkar, it is better to let the batsman be a kind of his own. While Shaw has scored a century on his debut, he has a long journey ahead of him and he certainly needs to walk down the road to become a better batsman and a better player.
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