Can Prithvi Shaw Make A Comeback For India?

Prithvi Shaw has been in stellar form since his return from Australia. The Mumbai captain and opening batsman has been dominating attacks in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, making over 700 runs, including four big hundreds, from his seven innings in the tournament so far. His tally is already the highest for a single edition in the history of India’s premier domestic competition.

Those who have followed Shaw’s career closely wouldn’t be so surprised by his returns for Mumbai. The 21-year-old has always been a prolific scorer at the domestic level. However, he has failed to replicate the same in the international arena and has thus carried a sense of curiosity about his batting.

Shaw is averaging above 50 with a fantastic strike-rate in both first-class and List A cricket in what is still a very young career. There is little doubt that he is a batting talent too good for domestic bowling. Against bowlers of the international class, however, Shaw hasn’t shown the same level of consistency and has had question marks raised over his technique.

It was during the 2018 U-19 World Cup in New Zealand that the world first came to know of Prithvi Shaw. In a tournament globally televised, he was clearly one of the two stand-out Indian batters, with Shubhman Gill being the other. Shaw had no real trouble facing anyone through the competition. But during a commentary stint in one of the games, former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull spotted a chink in his armour and talked about it in detail to the wider audiences.

Doull pointed out how Shaw’s back leg tends to go further towards the on-side in his stance rather than going back and across to the off to cover for the movement. Doull said it’s an issue that will leave him vulnerable to the bouncers aimed at his body and also the full pitched deliveries outside the off-stump. Further, his bat came down from the gully region and made it difficult for him to counter the inswingers.

For a while, especially when Prithvi Shaw started off magnificently at the Test level against West Indies in 2018, it seemed those are issues he has managed to overcome. But following a lengthy injury and disciplinary break, the problems resurfaced big time during the two Tests against New Zealand in early 2020. Shaw did score a half-century in Christchurch but it was obvious to the naked eye that the Kiwi bowlers have got the measure of him and his technique.

When he next played a Test for India – the D/N game in Adelaide on the tour of Australia – Shaw was out bowled in either innings for 0 and 4 and was left out of the side for the next three Test matches. It was visible, though, that he has put some work on refining his technique as Shaw’s back leg was now in a much better position, no longer going to the right of the leg stump and reducing his off-side reach. He was now better balanced to counter the bouncers aimed at his body too.

As it happens at the international level, though, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins found a way past him still as his bat didn’t come down straighter. The small gap between his bat and pad was breached with pace and movement. Neither the Indian surfaces nor the domestic bowlers here would carry the same level of potency, which would be one way to explain Shaw’s failure and success. But given his age and ability, despite his flaws, Shaw will always remain an exciting prospect. A talent who’s case deserves a patient hearing.

On that tour of Australia, Shaw worked extensively with the Indian team support staff on tightening up his game. The fact that he wasn’t retained in the squad for the England series means the selectors and the management probably felt he was better off playing domestically than warming the benches. Once back, Shaw has done what every good batsman sets out to do: score big runs consistently.

If Shaw can follow his run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a big IPL 2021 for Delhi Capitals (DC), he’ll once again be posing the selectors a major headache. Ultimately, though, the selectors will think whether he can maintain his success internationally? It’ll boil down to how India can get the best out of him?

Is Test cricket, with its bowler-friendly surfaces and opposition attacks deeper than ever, a challenge beyond Shaw’s reach? And whether he is better off playing only the white-ball game where he can manage around his weaknesses more competently?

These are all relevant questions the selectors will need to ask themselves before they reconsider Prithvi Shaw to wear the Indian jersey.

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