Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar gave important tips to young opener Prithvi Shaw for the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). Gavaskar emphasized the need for Shaw to improve his back-foot skills to succeed in the upcoming IPL season.
Despite his poor performance in IPL 2023, Prithvi Shaw was still kept by Delhi Capitals. He managed only 106 runs in eight innings, averaging 13.25. Delhi Capitals had a tough season too, ending up ninth in the points table.
Sunil Gavaskar Offered Important Advice To Prithvi Shaw
During a talk on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar mentioned that Prithvi Shaw needs to improve his game for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024. He stressed on the need for Shaw to work on his backfoot skills, as teams might target his weaknesses.
“Time for him to step up but what has happened is that a lot of teams have found that because of his predominant movement onto the front foot and that high backlift, they go the short way with him,”
He added: “So unless he starts to learn to play off the back foot, he is going to struggle. If the pitches are such where the ball doesn’t come up, then it will be fantastic for him,”
Notably, the Mumbai batsman was out of action for many months following a knee injury while playing county cricket in Northamptonshire. He couldn’t participate in domestic tournaments like the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy due to this injury.
He made a comeback during the later part of the Ranji Trophy season. In just his second match back, the 24-year-old cricketer scored a hundred for Mumbai against Chattisgarh. He made an impressive 159 runs off 185 balls, hitting 18 boundaries and three sixes.
Sunil Gavaskar raised doubts about the plans of Delhi Capitals for IPL 2024, particularly regarding the signing of Harry Brook. He pointed out the difficulty in replacing Rishabh Pant and expressed concerns about the pressure on the new wicketkeeper.
“It’s a little bit difficult to understand what they were looking to do. Clearly, you need somebody to fill in Rishabh Pant’s boots as a wicketkeeper, whether that’s going to be much of a pressure on this young man,” Gavaskar further added.
He added: “Harry Brook wasn’t exactly a great success. He got a hundred last year but wasn’t exactly a great success in the IPL last year. So to pick him, it’s a little bit difficult to understand what was their strategy.”
PRITHVI SHAW SPECIAL IN RANJI….!!!!
159 runs at a strike rate of 85.95, he has been going through lots of tough times in & out of cricket but coming back with a bang in domestics – Welcome back, Shaw 🔥pic.twitter.com/0WZEcnGTiq
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 10, 2024
Harry Brook, previously valued at Rs 13.25 crore in IPL 2023, was secured by Delhi Capitals for Rs 4 crore. This decrease in his price may be attributed to his underwhelming performance in the previous season, where he scored only 190 runs in 11 matches.
While Rishabh Pant is expected to return for IPL 2024, he might not handle wicketkeeping duties. Delhi Capitals invested INR 7.2 crore to acquire Kumar Kushagra as a backup wicketkeeper option for the Indian team.
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