After being dropped from Mumbai’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad on Tuesday, out-of-favour batsman Prithvi Shaw took to social media to express his disappointment.
Shaw, who has been under scrutiny for his form and fitness since the start of this domestic season, was recently part of Mumbai’s title-winning Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign before the selectors dropped the batsman for the second time this season.
The 25-year-old Shaw, who last played for India three years ago, raised questions about his exclusion by highlighting his commanding 50-over record. Shaw, who went unsold at the IPL mega auction in Jeddah last month, failed to light up the SMAT 2024 tournament, scoring just 197 runs in nine matches with a best score of 49.
However, Shaw’s List A records have stood out over the years. The Mumbaikar averaged 55.72 in 65 matches, the fourth-best List A among all Indian batsmen. Among Indian batsmen, only Ruturaj Gaikwad (58.16), Virat Kohli (57.05) and Cheteshwar Pujara (57.01) have done better.
In the 2020–21 Vijay Hazare Trophy season, Shaw led Mumbai to their fourth title. Apart from his leadership duties, Shaw scored 827 runs in the batting charts, including a career best of 227 runs.
Shaw’s response on Instagram.
‘God tell me, what else do I have to see.. if 65 innings, 3399 runs at 55.7 at a strike rate of 126, I’m not that good… but I’ll put my faith in you and hope people still believe in me.. cause I will definitely be back.. Om Sai Ram,” Shaw wrote on his Instagram story.
In October, Shaw was ruled out of the Ranji Trophy match after Mumbai’s Irani Cup win, saying he needed to improve his fitness.
Mumbai captain Shreyas Iyer was asked about Shaw after Mumbai won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by beating Madhya Pradesh in Bengaluru recently.
“We can’t babysit anybody, can we? He has played so much cricket. Everyone gave 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. Not that he hasn’t. He has to focus. He has to sit back, put on his thinking cap. He will get the answer himself. No one can force him to do anything,” Iyer remarked, acknowledging Shaw’s immense skill and god-like talent.
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