NEW DELHI: Prithvi Shaw‘s passionate outburst following his withdrawal from the Vijay Hazare Trophy squad was dismissed by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), which claimed that the volatile batter is “his own enemy” and has frequently disregarded disciplinary rules.
In an interview with PTI, a top MCA official stated that because of his lack of discipline, attitude, and physical fitness, the team was occasionally “forced to hide” him on the field.
In a widely shared social media post a few days ago, Shaw, who was a member of the team’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy-winning campaign, vented his dissatisfaction at not being included in the 16-man squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
“In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, we were playing with 10 fielders as we were forced to hide Prithvi Shaw. The ball would pass near him and he would barely be able to get to it,” the official said on conditions of anonymity.
“Even while batting, we could see he was troubled reaching to the ball. His fitness, discipline and attitude are poor and it is pretty simple, there cannot be different rules for different players,” he claimed.
“Even the seniors in the team have started complaining about his attitude now,” he added.
Shaw frequently missed training sessions at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy because he arrived at the team hotel at “six in the morning” and spent the whole of the night partying.
According to the official, Shaw, who has garnered a lot of attention for his off-field pursuits and failure to focus on his game and showcase his talent, would not benefit from such social media posts.
“You would be wrong to think such posts on social media would have any impact on the Mumbai selectors and the MCA,” he added.
On the night that Mumbai overcame Madhya Pradesh in the final to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Shreyas Iyer, Shaw’s teammate and captain, also made a strong statement.
“He needs to get his work ethics right. And if he does that, (the) sky’s the limit for him,” Iyer told reporters in Bengaluru.
“We can’t babysit anyone, right? He has played so much of cricket. Everyone has given him inputs. At the end of the day, it’s his job to figure out things for himself. And he has also done it in the past. It’s not that he hasn’t,” he added.
Shaw was given a special fitness regimen to train on at the MCA Academy after being excluded from Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy squad in October for identical reasons.
“He is not following that as well properly,” the official said.
Shaw made his Test debut in a home series against the West Indies in 2018 at the age of 18, sparking a lot of excitement.
His lone century in the format occurred on his exhilarating debut but since then, he has participated in just four more Tests, the last of these being against Australia four years ago.
Since 2021, he has not played any white-ball cricket for India, and his ODI and T20 International careers have also not taken off. For a guy who was hailed as the next big thing in Indian cricket only a few years ago, these are rather disappointing numbers.
Concerns over his behavior and demeanor on and off the field have been voiced by a number of former players. His failure to attract any bidders at the IPL auction, even though he entered with a comparatively cheap base price of Rs 75 lakh, was a recent low for him.
“I’ll tell you one thing. No one is Shaw’s enemy. He is his own enemy,” the MCA official stated, voicing the frustration that the cricket fraternity in India has felt over him not living up to the early promise.
