Mumbai: The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) dismissed Prithvi Shaw’s emotional outburst after being dropped from the Vijay Hazare Trophy squad, saying the temperamental batsman had regularly flouted disciplinary rules and was “his own enemy”. Claiming to be.
A senior MCA official speaking to PTI claimed that the side sometimes forced him to “hide” on the field due to his poor fitness, discipline and attitude.
Shaw had expressed his disappointment at not being included in the 16-member squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy in a viral social media post a few days ago after the team’s title-winner Syed Mushtaq Ali became part of the trophy campaign.
“In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, we were playing with 10 fielders because we were forced to cover Prithvi Shaw. The ball went past him and he was barely able to reach it,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
“Even while batting we have seen him having problems getting to the ball. His fitness, discipline and attitude is poor and it is quite simple, there cannot be different rules for different players,” he claimed.
“Now the seniors in the team are also complaining about his attitude,” he added.
During the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Shaw showed up at the team hotel “at six in the morning” and regularly missed training sessions after staying out most of the night.
The youth has defended himself
Shaw, who attracts a lot of attention for his off-field activities rather than judging his talent by focusing on his game, will not get any favor from such social media posts, the official said.
“You would be wrong to think that such posts on social media will have any impact on the Mumbai selectors and the MCA,” he added.
Shaw’s teammate and Mumbai captain Shreyas Iyer also made a strong statement on the night they beat Madhya Pradesh in the final to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
“He needs to get his work ethic right. And if he does that, (the sky) is the limit for him,” Iyer told reporters in Bengaluru.
“We can’t babysit anybody, right? He has played so much cricket. Everyone has given him input. At the end of the day, it’s his job to figure things out for himself. And he has done that in the past. It’s not that he hasn’t,” He added.
Shaw was earlier dropped from Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy squad for similar reasons in October after which he was given a specific fitness program to work out at the MCA Academy.
“He doesn’t follow that very well,” the official said.
Shaw burst onto the scene amid much hype, making his Test debut as an 18-year-old in the 2018 home series against the West Indies.
His only century in the format was on that thrilling debut but since then, he has appeared in four more Tests, the last of which came against Australia four years ago.
His ODI and T20 international careers were also unsuccessful and he has not played any white-ball cricket for India since 2021. These are remarkably poor figures for a player who is touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket. A few years ago.
Many former players have expressed concern about his activities and attitude on and off the field. Despite coming with a relatively low base price of Rs 75 lakh, he failed to find any buyers in the recent low IPL auction.
“I will tell you one thing. Nobody is Shaw’s enemy. He is his own enemy,” the MCA official said, expressing disappointment that the cricket world in India has not lived up to his initial promise.