Ricky Ponting appears to have failed to deliver for Prithvi Shaw. Ponting, who spent three seasons with the Indian youth at Delhi Capitals during the IPL, believes Shaw has not been able to display his skill. Shaw had a perfect scenario to earn him a spot in a team’s playing XI. But he couldn’t fulfill the expectations. After considering Shaw’s history of form, injury, and discipline problems, Ricky Ponting has pretty much given up on the 24-year-old. Prithvi Shaw is now playing for Northamptonshire in the Royal London One-Day Cup, where he has scored 9 and 40 runs in two matches.
Ponting on Prithvi Shaw’s potential
Ricky Ponting, who left the Capitals after seven seasons as their coach, has never shied away from the curious case of Prithvi Shaw. He dared to call a spade a spade every time Shaw struggled. However, despite working closely and investing a lot of his time and efforts, Ponting has run out of opportunities to give the once-in-a-million Indian prodigy. He offered the following:
I mean to start with I don’t like talking about individual players, but Prithvi shouldn’t be an outlier. He should be someone that’s in every team; the first pick in most teams with the skill that he’s got. He’s had a chance to represent India as a youngster, making a hundred on his Test debut.
This insight shows what the man in charge sees in the talent. It can be a difficult balance of expressing an opinion about a player who is not on your team. On the one hand, being too positive can have a negative impact on your roster. However, speaking too lowly of the opposition can result in unwanted bulletin board material. Regardless, Ponting manages to strike the right approach here.
Overcoming adversity
Prithvi Shaw, once heralded as the next Sachin Tendulkar, has seen his fair share of adversity, including injuries, a ban for the use of an illicit substance, and involvement in off-field activities. Prithvi Shaw was prepared for success after leading India to the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. He debuted for India with a century in a Test match against the West Indies. However, it was an injury incurred in Australia before the 2018 Border-Gavaskar Trophy that marked the beginning of his decline.
Shaw has had two good IPL seasons with DC. He hit 353 runs in 2019 and 479 in 2021. But the rest has been dreadful, particularly in the previous two seasons. During which he has scored 304 runs in 16 matches. Even the Indian squad appears to have moved on from him. He played last time for the country in July 2021.
Shaw’s Strong IPL Seasons
While he requires nothing short of a miracle to get back into the heart of things, Ponting desperately wishes Prithvi Shaw could dig himself out of a hole. However, he’s expressed the desire for him to turn things around. Spotting talent while watching an athlete go through a rough patch can be difficult for an onlooker. Especially, for someone with the experience and knowledge of the former cricketer himself, the current dry spell is something that those directly involved in the sport are all too familiar with. However, this also comes with the know-how of how to get out of a rut, and to return to playing at a high level. The ability of Prithvi Shaw is unmistakable, at this point, it’s mostly mental, but this is an aspect that he will soon overcome.
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