NEW DELHI: A few months ago, Prithvi Shaw posted a message on his Instagram account: “I hope you watch all Sai Baba”.
He was a young man desperate for divine intervention after being pushed into a corner. He was being judged by people who didn’t even know him and those fair weather friends weren’t there when he needed them most.
“I think that message was about whether he (Sai Baba) was watching or not. It wasn’t for anyone. It was a deeply personal thing,” Prithvi’s voice was uncharacteristically calm as he was talking to PTI after his marathon 379 out of 383 balls in a Ranji Trophy game against Assam in Guwahati.
In the nearly nine-decade history of top-class Indian cricket, Shaw has the second-highest individual tally after Bhausaheb Nimbalkar’s 443 for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in Pune in 1948-49.
Call it Indian cricket’s voluminous talent pool or its sheer bad luck, Prithvi scored runs in every format and talent-wise he should have made the squad. But perceptions in Indian cricket are flying, which can make or break careers.
“Sometimes you get frustrated,” said India’s U-19 World Cup-winning captain.
“You know you’re doing your things right. You know you’re doing your processes right, you’re honest with yourself, disciplined with your career on and off the pitch. But sometimes people speak differently. People who don’t don’t even know you’re judging yourself”, the pain was palpable in his voice.
Success makes you wiser, but tough times tend to make you mature a little faster. It happened with the 23-year-old, who now knows and can identify who all his supporters are.
“People who aren’t with me when I’m not well, I don’t really care about them. I just like to ignore them. That’s the best policy,” the second man after Sachin Tendulkar told having reached a hundred tests as a teenager. .
Social media trolls or negative comments no longer bother him.
“I use social media but all my posts are written by my manager, he manages my stories and posts. I don’t really see what’s going on. I’m trying to isolate myself from it all and if I do the things right and my processes are right, those kind of days will come again and again.”
I’ll just do my job and not think about calling India
It may be time for Prithvi to ideally get a national recall but with Rohit Sharma, KL RahulShubman Gill and Abhimanyu Easwaran ahead of him in the pecking order of the test, it is unclear how the door will be unlocked.
“I don’t even think if anyone is going to call me into the Indian team. I just try to do what I can and not think too much about the future. I’m a person who likes to live a day in a I have to get through my day. I play for Mumbai and the goal is to win the Ranji Trophy,” he said.
He received thousands of congratulatory messages on all his accounts, including some personal ones. It is difficult to choose.
“A lot of people were congratulated and the expectations are high. I hope I made them happy.”
I wasn’t out and could have done 400, laments Prithvi
A score of 400 does not happen every day in first-class cricket. But if he hadn’t been judged leg before Riyan Parag’s delivery, he might have topped 400 that day.
“It’s really nice. I could have done that 400. I think I was fighting really well but it was only a matter of time because the big runs weren’t coming. I thought, I should give more time out there in the middle, have patience and the track needed it,” Prithvi explained.
“The pitch offered a sewing move at first, then as the overs progressed it started to lay low.”
He was indebted to skipper Ajinkya Rahane (191) for his advice on their third wicket of 401 runs.
“It’s really nice to play with a player of his stature (from Rahane). Someone with so much international experience. Just being around this Mumbai team lifts us up. I always try to learn when a international player is coming to play with us,” he said.
When it comes to technical changes, playing close to the body has been his top priority in order to counter the stitching and swinging motion.
“I just try to play close to my body. Red ball in conditions like these. I’m that kind of player who likes to keep the scoreboard going and sometimes you have to put your head down and hit depending on the conditions. Those little little things made a huge difference,” he signed.
He was a young man desperate for divine intervention after being pushed into a corner. He was being judged by people who didn’t even know him and those fair weather friends weren’t there when he needed them most.
“I think that message was about whether he (Sai Baba) was watching or not. It wasn’t for anyone. It was a deeply personal thing,” Prithvi’s voice was uncharacteristically calm as he was talking to PTI after his marathon 379 out of 383 balls in a Ranji Trophy game against Assam in Guwahati.
In the nearly nine-decade history of top-class Indian cricket, Shaw has the second-highest individual tally after Bhausaheb Nimbalkar’s 443 for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in Pune in 1948-49.
Call it Indian cricket’s voluminous talent pool or its sheer bad luck, Prithvi scored runs in every format and talent-wise he should have made the squad. But perceptions in Indian cricket are flying, which can make or break careers.
“Sometimes you get frustrated,” said India’s U-19 World Cup-winning captain.
“You know you’re doing your things right. You know you’re doing your processes right, you’re honest with yourself, disciplined with your career on and off the pitch. But sometimes people speak differently. People who don’t don’t even know you’re judging yourself”, the pain was palpable in his voice.
Success makes you wiser, but tough times tend to make you mature a little faster. It happened with the 23-year-old, who now knows and can identify who all his supporters are.
“People who aren’t with me when I’m not well, I don’t really care about them. I just like to ignore them. That’s the best policy,” the second man after Sachin Tendulkar told having reached a hundred tests as a teenager. .
Social media trolls or negative comments no longer bother him.
“I use social media but all my posts are written by my manager, he manages my stories and posts. I don’t really see what’s going on. I’m trying to isolate myself from it all and if I do the things right and my processes are right, those kind of days will come again and again.”
I’ll just do my job and not think about calling India
It may be time for Prithvi to ideally get a national recall but with Rohit Sharma, KL RahulShubman Gill and Abhimanyu Easwaran ahead of him in the pecking order of the test, it is unclear how the door will be unlocked.
“I don’t even think if anyone is going to call me into the Indian team. I just try to do what I can and not think too much about the future. I’m a person who likes to live a day in a I have to get through my day. I play for Mumbai and the goal is to win the Ranji Trophy,” he said.
He received thousands of congratulatory messages on all his accounts, including some personal ones. It is difficult to choose.
“A lot of people were congratulated and the expectations are high. I hope I made them happy.”
I wasn’t out and could have done 400, laments Prithvi
A score of 400 does not happen every day in first-class cricket. But if he hadn’t been judged leg before Riyan Parag’s delivery, he might have topped 400 that day.
“It’s really nice. I could have done that 400. I think I was fighting really well but it was only a matter of time because the big runs weren’t coming. I thought, I should give more time out there in the middle, have patience and the track needed it,” Prithvi explained.
“The pitch offered a sewing move at first, then as the overs progressed it started to lay low.”
He was indebted to skipper Ajinkya Rahane (191) for his advice on their third wicket of 401 runs.
“It’s really nice to play with a player of his stature (from Rahane). Someone with so much international experience. Just being around this Mumbai team lifts us up. I always try to learn when a international player is coming to play with us,” he said.
When it comes to technical changes, playing close to the body has been his top priority in order to counter the stitching and swinging motion.
“I just try to play close to my body. Red ball in conditions like these. I’m that kind of player who likes to keep the scoreboard going and sometimes you have to put your head down and hit depending on the conditions. Those little little things made a huge difference,” he signed.
