'It's something we all wonder why?' - R Sridhar on Prithvi Shaw's absence in international circuit

Indian cricket has advanced to the point where there is no scarcity of talented young players on the rise. A prime example of this was the recently finished ODI series versus the West Indies. The only name that has vanished from the pool of young individuals in India is Prithvi Shaw’s. His slip from the team shocked many, and one among them was former India fielding coach R Sridhar.

Since playing his maiden international match in 2018, Shaw, who was once considered to be Indian cricket’s next big thing, has significantly disappeared from the spotlight. Shaw has fallen down the rank due to his bad form, controversy, and fitness issues, and he is unable to gain a spot even in India’s second squad.

“It’s something which we all wonder why? A batter who makes bowlers look absolutely silly. He is so good on the off-side. He’s got great hands going through the ball. You bowl any length to him, and he is able to put it away in the gap and stuff like that,” Sridhar said in a reply on Cricket.com.

The reason why Prithvi Shaw has fallen down in the pecking order is first, his fitness: Sridhar

Shaw hasn’t played for India in over a year; his most recent appearance was in a T20I match against Sri Lanka in July 2021. Since then, he has had trouble earning a spot in India’s lineups. Shaw led Mumbai as their captain and guided them to the Ranji Trophy final this year, but even there, his efforts fell short of expectations. He scored 355 runs in six games, averaging 35.5, with three half-centuries. Sridhar cited two factors as the causes of Shaw’s failure.

“The reason why he’s fallen down in the pecking order is, first, his fitness. I’m not sure why he’s not able to make it into these squads. He started off the IPL well, but slowly as the tournament progressed, his performances fell apart a little bit, if I might say so. Maybe we are being harsh on the kid. We need to give him time. He is obviously young and needs to get his act together in terms of his work ethics,” he added.