Ouch, that’s gotta hurt
SHATTERED Indian prodigy Prithvi Shaw has barely uttered a word since being told he was out of the first Test against Australia and now racing the clock to play a part in the series.
In a profound blow to India’s hopes of winning a Test series on Australian soil for the first time in history, Shaw suffered lateral ligament damage in his left ankle attempting a catch on the boundary during a sleepy tour match against the CA XI at the SCG.
Talked up as the next Sachin Tendulkar even by his own coach, superstar opener Shaw is undoubtedly the best young talent in world cricket and his loss could shake the confidence of a team that has a notoriously poor record away from the subcontinent.
Shaw left the SCG on a medicab and returned from scans in a moonboot and on crutches to confirm fears.
The 19-year-old ball of energy that has ignited the In- dian dressing room since making a hundred on debut earlier this year has been extinguished in what could be a seismic moment in the context of the Test series starting next week in Adelaide.
“He has not spoken much. It has hit him pretty hard. Young boy who has come to play in Australia for the first time, had a dream start to his Test career, so it’s hit him pretty hard,” said veteran spinner Ravi Ashwin.
“He is feeling a bit sore and it has swollen up a little bit. It’s sad that it happened the first time he came out on the field. It’s unfortunate what’s happened … You must have heard these cliches before, but these things do happen and it’s an opportunity for someone else.”
It’s understood India will slot in experienced warhorse Murali Vijay as Shaw’s replacement at the top of the order.
Vijay has played 59 Tests and made 12 Test hundreds and will now open alongside Lokesh Rahul in Adelaide.
India can take confidence from the fact Vijay actually has an outstanding record in Australia and averages 60 from four Tests down under. But losing the best teenager the game has witnessed since Tendulkar is a huge blow.
Cricket Australia XI opener Max Bryant went head to head with Shaw at last year’s under-19s World Cup and said he hadn’t seen a better talent.
“Yeah by far. Just the way he goes about it. It doesn’t really seem like pressure gets to him. He just plays his game,” said Bryant. “He’s a really good player. It’s going to impact heaps.”
There are not many days between the first and second Tests but India’s physio staff will work around the clock on Shaw to get him fit.