Gundappa Viswanath, a former Indian batsman has deemed the right-hander Prithvi Shaw who failed to score in double digits in 1st Test is not ready to face the pace generated by Australia quicks.
Gundappa Viswanath has also called Prithvi Shaw ‘ill-equipped’ to face the moving balls. He scored 62 runs in 4 innings in two warm-up games after a dismal IPL 2020 and then added just 4 runs in the two innings of 1st Test.
Gundappa Viswanath: Prithvi Shaw Should Not Have Been Picked
21-year-old Prithvi Shaw has been in the midst of wrong news ever since he got bowled in the first innings of the Pink-ball Test match versus hosts Australia in Adelaide. His technique to leave a gap between bat and pad was immediately questioned by on-air commentators Sunil Gavaskar and Ricky Ponting. Fans trolled him and questioned his place as an opener in the playing XI ahead of Shubman Gill and KL Rahul.
The 2nd innings provided no reprieve to him. He got castled in a similar fashion, managing only four runs this time. India did not win the Test match, as Prithvi Shaw could not avoid the unwanted attention he was getting for his poor show with the bat. But India’s 36 all out and the following 8 wicket loss has only worsened the situation for the Mumbai batsman who lacked confidence and temperament as a batsman.
“Shaw shouldn’t have been picked. He is not ready to face the kind of speed generated by the Australian pacers and he appears ill-equipped to play the moving ball,” Gundappa Viswanath told Mid-day.
Prithvi Shaw scored 228 runs in 13 games averaging a dismal pathetic 17.53, so his selection ahead of KL Rahul who was the highest scorer in IPL 2020 with 670 runs and Shubman Gill, who scored 440 runs in IPL 2020 and had two good warm-up games scoring 0,29, 43 and 65 was clearly confusing and baffling, to say the least.
Josh Hazlewood picked 5 wickets while Pat Cummins picked 4 scalps as the duo bowled brilliantly and intimidated Indian batsmen to play defensively as they registered their lowest ever Test score of 36 eclipsing the previous lowest of 42 runs.
Gundappa Viswanath: Cheteshwar Pujara Got Out To An Unplayable Delivery But The Rest Batsmen Did Not Use Feet
Further, the former chairman of selectors blamed the footwork of Indian batsmen for their terrible show against Australia in the first of the 4-match Test series. Only Cheteshwar Pujara got dismissed on an unplayable delivery but the rest followed suit as they were in two minds and did not exude confidence, according to the 71-year-old.
“Cheteshwar Pujara got out to an unplayable delivery, but the rest did not use their feet. They were caught in two minds before playing their strokes and displayed a total lack of confidence,” remarked Gundappa Viswanath from Bangalore.
Notably, Gundappa Viswanath was part of the team which got bowled out for a paltry 42 in a Test match against England at Lord’s in 1974. Recalling the incident, the former batsman stressed that his team also scored 302 runs in the same match.
“We have to accept that we faced a huge problem facing the moving ball. People pointed fingers at the debacle but we scored 302 in the same Test at Lord’s in the first innings. This is life. I am sure Team India will bounce back but for the time being, they have to endure this tough period,” Gundappa Viswanath said.
India may bring 4 changes in the team for next Test at Melbourne including KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj and Rishabh Pant. Injured pacer Mohammed Shami, out of form Prithvi Shaw and Wriddhiman Saha and homebound Virat Kohli could make way for the quartet.