Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Pankaj Shaw (born 9 November 1999) is an Indian cricketer and former India national under-19 cricket team captain who played for Middle Income Group (MIG) Cricket Club in Mumbai and was the captain of Rizvi Springfield High School and the Mumbai under-16 team. In November 2013 he had set the highest score by any batsman in any organised form of cricket since 1901 when he hit 546 in a Harris Shield elite division match until the record was surpassed by Pranav Dhanawade on 4 January 2016.^[1]

A right-hand, opening batsman, whose abilities as a cricketing prodigy have led to repeated comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar. He made his first international appearance on 4 October 2018 and became the second-youngest Indian after Tendulkar to make a Test century and the youngest Indian to do on Test debut.^[2]

Shaw was a central figure in the documentary film Beyond All Boundaries^[3] and has twice selected to travel to England to further his cricketing education.^[4][5]

Shaw has earned a deal worth Rs 36 lakh with SG, which has been endorsed by stalwarts like Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag in the past.^[6]

He made his first-class debut for Mumbai in the semi-finals of the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy on 1 January 2017.^[7] He scored a century in the second innings and was man of the match.^[7] He earned another distinction by scoring a century in his debut match of the Duleep Trophy and equalled the record held by Sachin Tendulkar who had scored for the first time a century each in his debut matches of Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. In December 2017, he was named captain of India's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.^[8] He led India in the final where they beat Australia by 8 wickets to win their fourth Under-19 World Cup.^[9].

Early life

In 2010, Shaw was offered a contract by AAP Entertainment that allowed him and his father to move to Mumbai and continue his cricketing education.^[10] He also received sponsorship from Indian Oil.^[11]

Personal life

Pankaj Gupta (later changed to Shaw), father of Prithvi, migrated to Maharastra, with ancestral roots in Gaya, Bihar. Prithvi lost his mother at a young age of four.^[12][13]

Domestic career

Shaw captained Rizvi Springfield to two Harris Shield titles in 2012 and 2013, the most prestigious trophy in Indian youth cricket. In 2012, he scored 155 in the semi-final and 174 in the final match.^[14] He trains and plays for MIG Cricket Club in Mumbai, where Arjun Tendulkar, son of Sachin, is a teammate.^[10]

In April 2012, Shaw was invited to England to play for Cheadle Hulme School in Manchester and scored 1,446 runs during a two-month stay. He scored a century on debut.^[15] and averaged 84. He also took 68 wickets.^[4] During his time in Manchester, Prithvi made several appearances for local side High Lane Cricket club.

In 2013 Prithvi Shaw played for Cryptics Vs. Middleton Stoney Cricket Club in Oxfordshire. He opened the batting and scored 68 in under 10 overs before a change of pace in English conditions led to his dismissal, caught off the bowling of Professor Paul Wordsworth. In this time, his opening partner had reached just 7 runs. He also bowled, taking 3 wickets for 1 run in 5 overs and completed a runout.^[16]

After once scoring 73 runs against a side from the Julian Wood Cricket Academy in England, the academy's founder, Julian Wood, offered Shaw a trip to England in May 2013 and a stint at the academy.^[5] He also played for Bradfield College in Berkshire, which includes the former Hampshire batsman and broadcaster Mark Nicholas among its alumni.

Shaw spent the 2014 English summer playing for Cleethorpes in the Yorkshire ECB County Premier League.

On 6 February 2017, while playing in his fifth ODI for India under-19s, he scored his first century at under-19 level.^[17]

He made his List A debut for Mumbai in the 2016–17 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 25 February 2017.^[18]

In November 2017 in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, he scored his second consecutive century, and his fourth in five first-class matches since his debut, batting for Mumbai.^[19]

He scored his first List A century against Leicestershire on 19 June 2018 and scored 132 runs.^[20]

Indian Premier League

In January 2018, he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils in the 2018 IPL auction for ₹ 1.2 crores.^[21][22] On 23 April 2018, Shaw became the youngest player to open batting in the Indian Premier League history at the age of 18 and 165 days while playing for Delhi Daredevils during their match against Kings XI Punjab.^[23] He also had an impressive IPL debut scoring 22 runs in 10 balls.^[24]

On 27 April 2018, Prithvi Shaw notched up his first IPL fifty against the Kolkata Knight Riders and went on to become the joint youngest player to score an IPL fifty along with Sanju Samson (in 18 years and 169 days).^[25] His blistering knock of 62 runs helped Delhi Daredevils secure a comfortable 55-run victory against KKR.^[26]

National record

In November 2013, Shaw established a new record of 546 runs from 330 balls playing for Rizvi Springfield in a Harris Shield match.^[27] It was the highest score in Indian schools cricket until the record was surprassed by Pranav Dhanawade on 4 January 2016 and is presently the 4th highest score by any batsman in any form of the organised game. Only AEJ Collins's 628* in 1899 and Charles Eady's 566 in 1901 are higher.^[28][29]

Previously the highest score recorded by an Indian in any form of registered competitive cricket was 515 by Dadabhoy Havewala in 1933.^[30]

Shaw's innings lasted six hours and seven minutes and contained 85 fours and five sixes before he was caught and bowled. Rizvi scored 991 runs having bowled out their opponents, St Francis d'Assisi, for 93.^[31]

The innings attracted significant media attention, particularly as it came only four days after the official retirement from international cricket of Tendulkar, who had scored 326 in the same tournament in 1988. "Less than a week after India bid its final farewell to the Little Master, the Master’s Apprentice conjured an innings of almost supernatural brilliance," wrote Howard Swains in a Freaky Good Futures profile of Shaw.^[31]

International career

In August 2018, he was called up to India's Test squad for the final two Tests against England, but he did not play.^[32] In September 2018, he was named in India's Test squad for their series against the West Indies.^[33] He made his Test debut against West Indies on 4 October 2018.^[34] In that match, he scored his maiden century in Tests and became the youngest batsman to make a Test century on debut for India (18 years and 329 days).^[35][36] India won the second Test by ten wickets, with Shaw being named the Player of the Series.^[37]

References