Boy wonder Shaw is back

New Delhi – Comparisons to India’s “god of cricket” Sachin Tendulkar have not always helped Prithvi Shaw (above) as he seeks to put a doping ban and injury worries behind him and cement his place in the national side.

Shaw, now 20, was instantly linked with Tendulkar when he matched the feat of the “Little Master” by scoring centuries for Mumbai on his debuts in the domestic Ranchi and Duleep tournaments in 2017.

He then led India to victory at the Under-19 World Cup, and burst into the Test team in 2018 with a match-winning 134 against West Indies, becoming the youngest Indian to score a century on debut at 18 years, 10 months and 25 days.

But since then, the boyish batsman has followed a rocky path.

An ankle injury ruled him out of India’s historic first Test series triumph in Australia last year, and he was then slapped with a back-dated eight-month ban for taking a prohibited anti-asthma drug.

“He is a special talent and I am a little disappointed with the way things have taken its course after his ankle injury and then his ban for using the banned substance,” former Test opener Wasim Jaffer said.

“Seeing all this troubles me, because he is very, very talented. But he needs to be disciplined if he wants to achieve great things.

“He is living in that Indian circle where he has got role models like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, who are so disciplined.”

Jaffer, who played 31 Tests for India, added: “There is much competition and he missed so many Tests and internationals. He does not need to do that because this is his time to fulfil his potential.”

Jaffer said Shaw has to be mentally equipped to deal with the pressures, like any international star.

Shaw, who has played four Tests and three ODIs, made headlines as a 14–year–old when he smashed a record 546 off 330 balls in a 2013 school competition.

That evoked memories of Tendulkar’s 326 not out in the star’s 664-run partnership with Vinod Kambli in the same tournament, the Harris Shield, in 1988. –