Who is Prithvi Shaw?

Full name: Prithvi Shaw

Born: Nov 09, 1999, Thane, Maharashtra 

Current age: 21 years

Role: Batsman

Batting style: Right-hand bat

Bowling style: Right-arm off-break

Major teams: India Under-19s, Mumbai, Delhi Capitals

The untold story of Prithvi Shaw:

I have been researching Indian youngsters playing in the Indian Premier League. Every player has an interesting story and all of them have had a difficult & exciting journey. Be it Ravi Bishnoi, Yashasvi Jaiswal or Priyam Garg.

Next in the series is Prithvi Shaw. I knew that he has achieved a lot already, but as I went about my groundwork, one thing hit me really hard.

The boy has achieved so much already and is a common name in the cricketing world. It is hard to believe that he is only 21 years old!

I explored various websites and realized that there are so many inspirational stories about him. The documentary, "Beyond all boundaries”, narrates the journey of the small boy beautifully. It is astonishing to see the dedication, hard work, focus & fearlessness that he has maintained right from the time he started playing.

The innocent smile in the documentary stuck with me, but I also felt a tinge of sadness to see the kind of pressure he had to endure during his childhood, instead of leading a carefree life with friends.

He is blessed with some unbelievable talent, hence, has performed exceptionally well from a young age. The flip side to that is everyone expects him to play well, every time he walks out.

Prithvi has been compared with Sachin Tendulkar from the time he burst into the scenes. That probably is the highest level of pressure any cricketer in India could face, let alone a child.

The demands & way of life at the International level can be brutal. He has been struggling with shot selection & form in recent times.

Indian cricket needs to handle Prithvi with great care. He could inspire an entire generation, just like his idol.

--------------------------

It’s been the Shaw show. Congratulations Prithvi Shaw, abhi toh bas shuruaat hai , ladke mein bahut dum hai #IndvWI - Virender Sehwag on Twitter after his debut test century vs West Indies.

“When a little boy is taking a 4 am train from Virar to Bandra, trying to get into those insanely crowded compartments where at times people protest if they see huge kit-bags, it prepares you for a tough life,” said Prashant Shetty, Prithvi’s coach at the MIG Cricket Academy (Bandra).

'To see him for the first time was to realise that this was a boy destined for greatness. Here was a 12-year-old playing against 18-year-olds and you just couldn't help admire his skill. Age, quite simply, was irrelevant.' Lucy Pearson, head of Cheadle Hulme School, Greater Manchester.

When you read or hear such comments about someone, you instantly know that these could only be about a special talent.

That is exactly what Prithvi Shaw is ...special..a prodigy!

Tendulkar is his idol and one thing he wants to pick from him is not his batting style to technique, but the way he carries himself in a humble manner.

(Prithvi with his idol. Image courtesy: www. Indiatoday.in) 

Prithvi started playing underarm cricket at home with a plastic ball when he was a baby. He progressed into playing tennis ball cricket in his building & broke many windows in the process.

The next step obviously was to pick the season ball.

It is astounding to think that he started playing with the season ball from the tender age of 3 in the grounds at Virar.

Prithvi's father, Pankaj Shaw, hails from Manpur in Gaya district of Bihar but moved to Virar (northern suburban city of Mumbai) before Prithvi was born. At Virar, he had his own garment business for which he had to travel to Surat & Baroda in Gujarat.

(Prithvi with his dad. Image courtesy: www.chaaipani.com )

Prithvi lost his mother when he was only 3.5 years old and his father had to focus on Prithvi. Hence, he shut down his business with the sole intent to make Prithvi play cricket. He saw the zeal in his son and knew that Prithvi could achieve great success.

But it was a tough life.

His father used to wake up at 4 am, cook breakfast, get the child ready to catch the 6 AM train from Virar to Bandra.

All this, to play cricket.

For people who do not know the topography of Mumbai, the distance between Virar & Bandra is ~70km - one way!

(Prithvi with his dad traveling to the railway station. Image courtesy: starsunfolded.com)

His dad was the first coach and used to bowl to him for hours, along with the net bowlers.

During one of his net sessions, a Mumbai politician, named Sanjay Potnis, who was also a big cricket fan, visited the ground. He was stunned seeing this small boy's technique & footwork. Curious, he inquired about his background and realized that he used to travel so far to play cricket.

He was impressed by his dedication & hard work. It is not easy for a 5/6-year-old boy to get up so early and travel all the way daily. The politician helped them get a flat in his building for Prithvi & his dad to stay.

This was immensely helpful for them as it cut down travel time & helped him focus on his education too.

(Prithvi with the politician who helped him. Image courtesy: news18.com)

Soon, Prithvi became a renowned name in the Mumbai cricketing circle. He would score runs at will and wasn’t intimidated by senior fast bowlers from club teams.

People were beginning to notice this small boy who was playing some unbelievable shots.

His straight drives were making jaws drop. His defence was top class.

Such was the talent of the boy that he could hit any shot on demand, against the fastest of bowlers!

For a boy who was shorter than the stumps, he had a solid technique & nerves of steel.

At the age of 8, he was led his school team and went on to win 3 championships.

He played in various leagues as well and almost every time, he would be the youngest member of the team. As an example, he played in a league when he was 12 years old and the next youngest was 23 years!

He was so focused on his game that he would stay back late into the night after matches to practice.

As he started playing more games, he got better. However, with that, his dad's expectations also grew. That definitely weighed down little Prithvi to some extent, but he kept going.

For a young boy, who should have been playing around with his friends, he had a really demanding schedule: morning practice, fitness camp, swimming, lunch, table tennis, home for a short rest, evening practice till 630, dinner and tv and night match 8 pm to 1 am.

He never took a break, not for a single day.

He never complained. NEVER!

He continued this routine relentlessly for years when former left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni spotted the 11-year old's ability with the bat in 2010. Nilesh's sports management company signed young Prithvi to help him develop better.

Thus, began his unimaginable journey.

He kept ticking boxes one after the other at a rapid pace.

Prithvi Shaw at Cricket exchange program in England:

In 2011, India vs England test series, India struggled to play in the English conditions and lost 4-0 in the test series.

Cheadle Hulme School in Greater Manchester saw this as an opportunity and came up with a placement scheme called 'Cricket Beyond Boundaries’. The objective of the scheme was to get young Indian players to play in English conditions, in order to give them more exposure.

Keeping this in mind, Dr Samir Pathak and John Wilson, the school's head of modern languages visited Dilip Vengsarkar's academy in Mumbai in 2012.

The 12-year-old Shaw caught their eye immediately and he was invited to play.

He gained a wealth of experience, scored a lot of runs and took wickets with his off-spin too. He went to the UK again in 2013 and once again, did not fail to impress.

Everyone was in awe of the way this 13-year-old boy played against 18-year olds and how he had amazing match awareness.

Seeing him play in English conditions, he was also offered a trip to England for a stint at the Julian Wood Cricket Academy.

The only issue he had in the UK, was with food. It was too bland and he wondered what on earth was jacket potato! Some days, he survived on Fish & Chips.

It is mind-boggling to think that this boy went to the UK, at that age, even before he played domestic cricket.

(Prithvi in England. Image courtesy: Kreedon.com )

Mumbai U-16:

After returning to India, Prithvi was given the captaincy of the Mumbai Under-16s. 

Youth cricket record:

At 13 years, he shot to fame when, as the captain of the Rizvi Springfield High School, Prithvi scored a whopping 546 runs in 330 balls. This was a record by an Indian cricketer in junior cricket, in the Harris Shield Elite Division Tournament. This record was broken by Pranav Dhanawade in 2016.

Sachin Tendulkar had also held a record in the same tournament as a kid.

(After the record of 546 runs. Image courtesy: cricketshala.com)

Indian U -19 Youth Asia cup:

He was also a part of the India Under-19 team that won the youth Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.  

Ranji Trophy & Duleep trophy:

It was Ranji trophy next.

Mumbai took a chance with Prithvi in 2017.

It was Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu semi-final. Mumbai was faced with multiple injuries to players and did not have an opener.

As per ESPNcricinfo, the selector called Rahul Dravid, the then coach of the U-19 team and enquired about Prithvi Shaw.

There was no hesitation whatsoever from Dravid. He said, “Of course you should consider him,”

It was the right call. Prithvi scored a century in the second innings in a very tricky chase helping Mumbai secure a spot in the final. Mumbai lost in the final, but he again scored some valuable runs for the team.

He equalled Sachin Tendulkar's record of scoring a century each in his Ranji trophy & Duleep trophy debuts.

At the age of 17, he created a new record of becoming the youngest player to score a century in the Duleep Trophy.

(Prithvi after century in Duleep trophy debut. Image courtesy: dnaindia.com)

India U-19 World cup:

Prithvi led the Indian Under-19 World Cup side to victory in NZ in 2018. Scoring an impressive 261 runs in the tournament at an average of 65.25, Shaw became the highest scoring Indian captain at this level surpassing the likes of Unmukt Chand, Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel.

(U19 WC team with the trophy in 2018. Image courtesy: www.deccanchronicle.com) 

India senior team:

With so many records, the international call was waiting to happen, and it did in 2018. He was part of the Indian squad that travelled to England in 2018 but did not get a game.

He made his test debut against WI in 2018 and went on to score a century.

On 23 April 2018, he went to become the youngest Indian to make a Test century on debut for India at the tender teenage of 18.

He was a part of the team for the Australia series in 2018 but unfortunately got injured and had to return to India.

His ODI debut was against NZ earlier this year.

(Prithvi after his century on test debut. Image courtesy: indiatoday.in)

Indian Premier League:

He was picked by the Delhi capitals in 2018 in the IPL. For a boy of this talent and experience, he hasn’t done a lot in the IPL.

I think he is going through a rough patch, but it is important to be patient. I hope Ricky Ponting, the head coach of Delhi Capitals, sits him down and helps him through this.

Maybe it is the pressure, maybe it is the break due to the pandemic, just a phase or just 2020!

There is not a single person in the cricketing world who hasn’t noticed him or compared him with Tendulkar. Even The International Cricket Council (ICC) named Shaw as one of the five breakout stars in men's cricket in 2018

I want to reiterate here that we need to remember that he is only 21 years old!

His dad has big dreams for him and expects him to do well every time. I hope his dad's & the nation's expectations do not weigh him down.

He has already had his share of troubles as well.

In July 2019, he was suspended by BCCI for doping violation till 15 November 2019. Prithvi was handed a back-dated 8-month ban for a doping violation on 30 July by the BCCI. He had inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups.

I hope and pray that this genius’ talent is not wasted, and Indian cricket is able to reap the benefits.

Whatever it is, I hope someone is taking note and will help him get out of this quickly.

As I said, we need to take care of national treasures like him.