India has a population of more than 1.3 billion, and a vast majority of this population is a cricket fan. There’s hardly anyone that does not watch cricket news for India and supports the Men in Blue. The dream of representing the nation by playing cricket is alive in every street of the country. One such dreamer from the suburbs of Mumbai was young Prithvi Shaw.
At 18, Shaw made his international debut in a Test match against West Indies in Rajkot, making him the youngest Indian cricket to do so after Sachin Tendulkar. Not only that, he also became the youngest Indian player ever to score a Test century in his debut match. At present, he has only played 12 matches internationally, but his technical assiduousness and batting caliber hit the news headlines almost every day. An agile fielder and an even better batsman. Let’s take a look at the cricket journey of Prithvi Shaw.
Early Life: The Journey Of A 3-year-old Dreamer To U-19 Mumbai Captain
While many may know him from the 2013 Harris Shield tournament in Rizvi Springfield High School in Mumbai, wherein he built the massive score of 546 in just 330 balls, including 85 fours and five sixes, the cricket journey of Prithvi Shaw started when he was just three.
Shaw lost his mother at an early age. His childhood was devoid of a mother’s love, care, and affection and the privileges other kids at his colony and school had. But it didn’t stop him from building his own name and pursuing his passion for the sport. In fact, it enabled him to forge all his passion, dedication, and skills in the right direction.
His father was supportive of his career choice and helped him every step of the way. His father was the one who understood Shaw’s passion for cricket and believed in his abilities when he didn’t. Shaw did not have a mansion growing up. His father owned a small garment shop in the suburbs of Mumbai that helped him pay for Shaw’s school fees and fulfill other household needs.
A typical day in the life of 6-year-old Prithvi started at 4:30 in the morning. Shaw packed his school bag and cricket kit while his father prepared breakfast and lunch. Carrying his school bag in one hand and cricket kit in another, they both rushed down the narrow lanes of Virar to catch the earliest bus for Bandra, which arrived at 6:00 AM every day. They both made their way to the infamous MIG Ground in Mumbai and practiced until Shaw’s school bell rang. The routine was neither easy for Shaw nor his father, but Shaw’s father knew his son would make it big in the cricket world, and that’s what pushed him to work harder each day.
When Shaw pointed out the amount of his time getting wasted while traveling from Virar to Bandra to complete his training, his father sold his shop without thinking twice to live with his son near MIG Ground, Mumbai. All these sacrifices made by his father and the burning desire to make his parents proud made Shaw stand out in the crowd.
He was quick to garner attention from multiple personalities on the ground and played every match like it was his last. The impeccable batting skills of teenage Prithvi became the talk of the town, and he got selected for the 2012 Harris Shield tournament in Mumbai. His ability to hit massive scores earned him a good reputation, and people often compared him to Sachin Tendulkar.
Even after securing the front page of every local newspaper for a week or so, Prithvi didn’t get his first remuneration as a cricketer until 2010. Nilesh Kulkarni, the former Indian left-arm spinner, signed Shaw to practice cricket under his sports management firm for 3 Lakh per annum. During this time, a local helped Shaw’s father arrange a flat in Santacruz to help the 11-year-old Prithvi focus on his craft. The hard work of the father-son duo finally started to pay off as his batting trajectory only up post his Harris Shield era.
Julian Wood, a former English cricketer, impressed by his ability to hit massive scores, offered him to play for his academy in Yorkshire. Shaw was reluctant at first but gave in to Wood’s request after seeing his persistent efforts. In 2014, Shaw performed for Wood’s academy and scored a century in his debut match. At the end of his two-month stay in England, he built an incredible 1,446 runs and knocked off 68 wickets. Opportunities started coming his way, but that’s when he knew it was time to move back to India.
His performance was instrumental in the 2016 Under-19 Youth Asia Cup, which helped India lift the trophy in Sri Lanka. He played a crucial role in Mumbai’s victory against Tamil Nadu during the 2017 Ranji Trophy semi-finals. At 17, Shaw became the youngest player to score a century in the 2016 Duleep Trophy season, a record previously held by legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Under the guidance of Rahul Dravid, Shaw led India’s Under-19 team for the 2018 World Cup in New Zealand and lifted the finals trophy.
International And IPL Career
After his successful Under-19 captainship in 2018, he was offered an IPL gig by Delhi Daredevils in the 2018 season for INR 1.2 crores. His IPL debut turned out to be pretty successful, as he managed to score 245 runs with a strike rate of over 150 in just 9 matches. The same year he got his international break and smashed a century in his Test debut against West Indies. Shaw has scored 339 runs from his 5 Test matches at an average of 42.37 and strike rate of 86.01. He has only played 6 ODIs in his career till now and scored 189 runs at an average of 31.50 and strike rate of 113.85.
Shaw was retained by the Delhi-based franchise for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 IPL season. His best IPL performance came during the 2021 IPL season, wherein he scored 479 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate close to 160. The 2023 IPL season started off smoothly for Shaw, but he was dropped off the Delhi squad mid-season for his poor performance.
