The opening batter of the Indian and Mumbai side, Prithvi Shaw, has made an emotional outburst after his exclusion from the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2024-25 squad before which the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) stated that the opening batter stated that the right-hander had been his enemy.
A senior official of the MCA claimed that at times, Prithvi Shaw was forced to hide in the field due to his poor fitness standard, discipline, and attitude. The right-handed batter expressed his frustration for not being picked among the 16-member for the first three games of the domestic white-ball event through a viral social media post just a couple of days after winning the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Madhya Pradesh in Bengaluru.
The batter shared his stats in List-A cricket, where he has thumped 3399 runs in 65 innings at an average of 55.70 and a strike rate of 125, on an Instagram story, as he kept his faith and vowed to make a strong comeback in the future.
“Prithvi Shaw was out all night”-MCA official reveals
The former Delhi Capitals batter didn’t enjoy a great time in the SMAT 2024 with the help of just 197 runs at the highest score of 49 against Vidarbha in the quarter-final fixture.
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“In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, we were playing with ten fielders as we were forced to hide Prithvi Shaw. The ball would pass near him, and he would barely be able to get to it.” The official expressed on the development.
“Even while batting, we could see he was troubled reaching to the ball. His fitness, discipline, and attitude are poor, and it is pretty simple, there cannot be different rules for different players.” He explained. “Even the seniors in the team have started complaining about his attitude now.”
The 25-year-old didn’t feature in the mega auction as none of the franchises displayed any interest in the opening batter. He smashed 198 runs in eight innings of the 2024 season of the IPL at an average of 24.75 and a strike rate of 163.63 with the help of one half-century at the best score of 66.
The reports have highlighted that Prithvi Shaw missed the training sessions regularly after he turned up to the dressing room at six in the morning to be out for most part of the night. He has defended by saying that the batter, who attracted a lot of activities off the field and didn’t do justice to his talent by not paying attention, wouldn’t get any extra favor through the social media posts.
“You would be wrong to think such posts on social media would have any impact on the Mumbai selectors and the MCA.” He informed.
At the end of the final of the SMAT, the Mumbai captain, Shreyas Iyer, issued a stern warning to Prithvi Shaw to work on his ethics and figure out what needed to be done.
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“He needs to get his work ethic right. And if he does that, (the) sky’s the limit for him. We can’t babysit anyone, right? He has played so much cricket. Everyone has given him input. At the end of the day, it’s his job to figure out things for himself. And he has also done it in the past. It’s not that he hasn’t.” The MCA official added.
Several formers have expressed their concern about his attitude both on and off the field. The MCA official voiced the frustration of the batter and lived to the early promise of the youngster.