The talent and pedigree of Prithvi Shaw were never in question. However, after the Adelaide Test against Australia, his game looked out of sorts. He was axed from the side and had to make his way back to the domestic circuit. This is where his transformation began. In the Vijay Hazare, he scored 827 runs with an average of 165.40 and with a strike rate of 138.29. Not only this, in the IPL, he smashed 308 runs in 8 matches for the Delhi Capitals. This saw him being drafted back in the Indian squad for the Sri Lanka series.
With the T20 World Cup spots up for grabs, Shaw gave a great account of himself with a smashing innings of 43 off 24 balls in the first ODI against Sri Lanka.
When he was out from the Indian side after the Adelaide Test, he realised that he needed to control his movement while batting and he spoke to his coaches once he made the trip back home.
In an interview, Shaw said he went to work on the basics in Australia itself. “I needed to keep my bat close to my body, which I was not doing.. After returning from Australia, I spoke to my coaches Prashant Shetty sir and Pravin Amre sir. Worked with them in the nets before playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy.”
Before the Indian squad left for Sri Lanka, Prithvi said that Rahul Dravid had never asked him to change his batting. Dravid told him to continue playing his natural game. “He also used to tell me that I have to play my natural game, because he knew that if I play in the powerplay overs, it will help the team. He never stopped me from playing my game,” Shaw was quoted as saying.
India won the first ODI against Sri Lanka by seven wickets. The stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan scored an unbeaten 86 runs. Other than Shaw, Ishan Kishan who scored 59 off 42 deliveries was a major contributor to the emphatic win.
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