In the wake of India’s recent fiasco at the hands of Australia, which left them reeling at ground zero, a lot of questions have been asked about Prithvi Shaw. Even before the game began, the choice of Shaw over an in-form Shubman Gill raised countless eyebrows.
The first innings saw Prithvi Shaw dragging a ball outside the off-stump onto his middle and in the process made his critics go full blast at him. One of the primary reasons that caught the eye of the critiques was his monumental gap between the front foot and his bat. As pointed out by the analysts, he was hesitant in stepping his front foot down on the ground completely and that led to the debacle.
The second innings saw him closing the gap by a comprehensive amount but the gap was good enough to let a flood in and Pat Cummins exploited that gap, ensnaring him in the same trap that Starc used to remove him in the first innings.
“The problem and the worry is his front foot’s not planted.”@RickyPonting talks Prithvi Shaw’s first Test dismissals #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/7Vo8ukUNyg
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 18, 2020
Now coming to the fact that why is he not ready to come to international cricket, one can cite two to three crucial reasons. Firstly, he looks to attack every single thing being hurled at him from the very beginning. Now in a test match, there is a reason why there are so many overs to play. You will need to have a proper temperament in the first place and must be willing to negotiate the initial sting of the new ball.
Attacking from the very first ball, you give the bowler a massive chance to scalp you, and in both the innings that was the exact scenario. Had he left the delivery in the first innings to the wicketkeeper, he would have survived to see another ball.
The second thing that underlines his inability to make the dash for international affairs is the poor adjustment of his posture in front of his stumps that bogs him down from playing the exact strokes that one would want to. He has definitely posted a resolute show in India, however, it is a lot easier to bat on Indian pitches that facing the cherry in Australia, England, New Zealand, or South Africa. The ball keeps on moving and exhibits sharp bounce and movement, making life hell for the batters. An iota of jugular exposed to the bowling unit and bam! You are on your way to the pavilion, at times to your home forever.
The third reason that Prithvi Shaw lags in his shot at becoming an international star is his inability to adjust his stature to the bounce of the deliveries. He has a diminutive stature, and we have seen players with short heights who used to adjust their stance according to the deliveries, let’s say, for instance, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. He fails to reach the ball and that is a massive blow for him as in cases where he is supposed to be attacking, he falls on the back-foot, trying to negotiate with that additional bounce.
Unless he is able to overcome the vulnerabilities, life will continue being hell for him and international cricket will still be a pipe dream for him.
