After having a miserable 2020, Prithvi Shaw struggled badly in Australia. While some fans bad for the Indian opening batsman after he was dropped from the Indian squad after the 1st Test match, on the other hand, many felt it was necessary for the team as one of the most important series was on the line.
From the team’s point of view, it won’t be wrong to say that the decision of skipper Ajinkya Rahane to replace Shaw with Shubman Gill turned out brilliantly for the Indian cricket team. The Indian cricket team remained undefeated for the rest of the series and ended up winning the series by 2-1 with Shubman Gill playing an instrumental role in India’s win.
However, one feels bad for Prithvi Shaw at the cost of which Gill got his big debut. Recently, in an interview with The Indian Express, Prithvi Shaw relived the moment he was dropped from the squad and what he went through. He revealed how he broke down and he had ‘the talk’ with himself to get ready for what was to come. He revealed:
“I was in complete tension when I was dropped after the first Test. I got a feeling like I was worthless though I was happy that the team was doing well. I said to myself ‘I need to pull up my socks’. There is a saying, ‘hard work beats talent’. I told myself all this talent is fine but it’s of no use if I don’t work hard. It was the saddest day of my life (when he was dropped). I went to my room and broke down. I felt like something wrong was happening. I needed answers quickly.”
After returning back to India and not being part of the Indian squad for the 4-match Test series, Shaw revealed the only thing he was looking forward to was playing for Mumbai during the 2020-21 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He said:
“Once you are dropped from the team there is pressure to perform and make a comeback. I am keen to get runs. I wanted to get big-daddy runs,”
Talking about his performances in the 2020-21 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Prithvi Shaw, ever since the start of the tournament, the batsman has been absolutely brilliant with the bat. His unbeaten 227 is the highest score in the history of the tournament. He also gave a match-winning performance of 165 runs in the semi-final against Ravikumar Samarth’s Karnataka side.
