VVS Laxman asks struggling Prithvi Shaw to learn from Kane Williamson and Mayank Agarwal

Prithvi Shaw made a terrific start to his international career in 2018 when he hit a hundred against the West Indies in Rajkot. However, he could not play more than two Tests as he got injured on the eve of the first Test against Australia Down Under later that year.

Injuries and controversies saw him missing out for a while till he made a comeback to the national side in the ongoing tour of New Zealand. He made his ODI debut but failed to impress on his return to the red-ball format in Wellington.

The 20-year-old opening batsman, who is often considered to be as promising as the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, was picked ahead of Shubman Gill for the opening Test but could manage only 16 and 14 in the two matches.

Shaw’s poor opening partnerships in both innings with Mayank Agarwal saw the youngster’s technical loopholes coming to the fore and former India batsman VVS Laxman advised him to learn from Kane Williamson, the Kiwi captain who made a perfect display of batting in conditions where the Indian batting collapsed on more than one occasion. Williamson made a solid 89 in the only innings he batted in the match.

VVS Laxman suggests Prithvi Shaw to play straight

Shaw was seen struggling against experienced fast bowlers like Tim Southee and Trent Boult, particularly against their shorter stuff. He fell to each of those bowlers in the two innings of the game. In his column for the Times of India, Laxman asked Shaw to play straight when the ball is moving. He said the talented Mumbai youngster should understand the conditions but not compromise on his natural flair.

“He (Prithvi Shaw) loves hitting the ball to the on the side, but when the ball is moving around, he will be better off playing straight and getting the measure of the conditions without compromising on natural flair. Maybe he can take a leaf out of Kane Williamson’s book. The captain came up with another stunner, an example on how to bat in New Zealand, by playing the ball right under the eyes and close to the body,” the 45-year-old wrote.

Laxman also said that Shaw can take a leaf out of the book of Mayank, who had a much better display in the game with 34 and 58. “He can also look at his partner Mayank Agarwal, who came into the game with little form, but showed his maturity by batting with poise and application,” the former batsman said.

Shaw, however, is likely to miss the second Test in Christchurch starting Saturday as he missed the training sessions because of a swollen foot. Shubman, his mate in the U-19 World Cup-winning side of 2018, will replace him in that case. India lost the first Test by 10 wickets because of a poor batting performance.

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