Prithvi Shaw likes the big runs. The opening batter leaves no stone unturned to make statements with his willow. On Wednesday at Guwahati, Brian Lara's 501* seemed under threat when Shaw called the shots on Day 2 of the Group B Ranji Trophy 2022-23 match between Mumbai and Assam.
The right-hander scored 379 off 383 balls (4x49; 6x4) at a strike rate of 98.95 to become the second-highest scorer in Ranji Trophy history. He broke Sanjay Manjrekar's record of 377 for Mumbai against Hyderabad but fell short of Maharashtra's Bhausaheb Nimbalkar, who had smashed an unbeaten 443 against Kathiawar in Pune in the 1948-49 season.
Shaw, an U-19 World Cup winner in 2018, played five Tests, six ODIs and a lone T20I. He last represented India in the T20I against Sri Lanka in July 2021. Unfortunately, he departed for a first-ball duck. It was his only appearance in the shortest format despite scoring 479 runs in the Indian Premier League that season for Delhi Capitals.
New year, new start
The Ranji Trophy knock has made Shaw the only batter, besides Rohit Sharma and Virender Sehwag, to have a triple hundred in first-class, a double hundred in List A and a hundred in T20s.
Shaw, who had scored a hundred on his Test debut against the West Indies at Rajkot in 2018, presented a strong case for an international comeback. He will be a talking point among the selectors looking ahead at the white-ball series against New Zealand and the Test series against Australia at home.
In six ODI appearances, Shaw has shown sparks of a match-winner but could not convert the starts into big scores in New Zealand and Sri Lanka. He was trapped in the 40s thrice. The 24-ball 43 in the first ODI (Shaw's fourth) against Sri Lanka set the tone for the chase of 263. None of these knocks could unleash Shaw, who scored 227 not out off 152 balls in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game against Puducherry in February 2021.
But Shaw 2.0 looks a different beast after the hard yard at the gym. He seems to have returned a fitter cricketer who didn't gas out after scoring 240 on day one and 139 the next day to register his career-best score in first-class cricket.
He has developed biceps and has been running between the wickets like a sprinter in the Olympic arena. He scored 220 runs in boundaries and 159 runs by running the singles and doubles.
Shaw became the ninth batsman in Ranji Trophy to smash 350+ runs. Besides Manjrekar, he surpassed MV Sridhar (366), Samit Gohel (359*), VVS Laxman (353), Cheteshwar Pujara (352) and Swapnil Gugale (351*).
Knocking at the door
Shaw had a lean IPL 2022, scoring only 283 runs with two 50s. His stocks started falling in red-ball cricket after registering 355 runs with no hundreds in the 2021-22 season. Abhimanyu Easwaran and Priyank Panchal were the preferred openers in India A, while Shaw worked on his fitness to get better.
He missed the T20 World Cup 2022 berth as there was no vacancy for another opening batsman.
The start of the 2022-23 season took him closer to his goals. He scored two Duleep Trophy hundreds, followed by a ton in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. Shaw made 134 off 61 balls just a few days before the selectors picked the squad for the series in New Zealand and Bangladesh.
The selectors have picked Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan as openers in white-ball cricket among the younger crop. Left-handed Kishan made a statement by smashing 210 in the third ODI against Bangladesh in December last year. It will be difficult for Shaw to sneak in, but it is not impossible.
Is consistency a concern?
Consistency has been Shaw's primary issue. The innings of 379 came after 13, 6, 19, 4, 68, 35, and 15 in the first four matches of the Ranji season.
MSK Prasad, former BCCI chairman of selectors, feels the lack of consistency kept him out, but if he continues to pile runs, he stands a chance to get selected ahead of other openers. "He needs to be consistent. There are no two ways about his talent. We picked him to play Test cricket at 18 or 19. It speaks volumes about his talent. Maybe the new selectors will consider his talent as long as he is fit and consistent," Prasad, whose panel picked Shaw for the final two Test matches in the tour of England in 2018-19, told Moneycontrol.com.
Prasad, a former India wicketkeeper-batsman, highlighted how players such as Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara cemented their spots in the Test team after being in and out in the initial years. "Shaw has to keep getting runs. And that's the only thing he can control. Rahane and Pujara scored thousands of runs to earn their spot. Selectors' perspectives will change if someone performs consistently. He will force himself into the squad," he added.
Shaw will be hoping to play a part in the long international season at home against New Zealand and Australia. A string of good scores in the ODI format could ring in surprises later in 2023 as India prepares to host the ICC World Cup.