NEWS
Follow UsPrithvi Shaw started his international career on an astonishing note. The swashbuckling opener from Mumbai led India Under-19 to a World Cup win in 2018 and made his Test debut in the same year. The right-handed batsman whacked scores of 134, 70 and 33* in his first three innings and forced everyone to sit up and take notice.
Everything was going right for Shaw, but then he suffered an ankle injury during the tour of Australia and things started going downhill for the young opener. He struggled with his batting a bit and was even banned for eight months for a doping violation during the 2018-19 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
"Till New Zealand tour I was in a happy space. Basically, I was feeling okay, and then I did decently in IPL too in 2020. The 2018-19 Australia series was something I was really looking forward to. And then suddenly this ankle injury happened. The physios and team management were trying to keep me ready for the third Test, but the recovery progress stopped after a point," he told Cricbuzz.
"I was in a lot of pain and was really sad. But these sorts of things keep happening, and this is what the players and support staff tried to explain to me. After I came back, I started my treatment and played the IPL. But then this cough syrup controversy came up. I think dad and I are responsible for it.
"I remember we were playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Indore and I was down with cold and cough at that time. So I had gone out for dinner and was coughing a lot. So I spoke to my dad. He asked me to take the cough syrup available in the market. What I did wrong was did not consult the physio, which was wrong on my part. I took that syrup for two days, and on the third day I had my dope test. So that’s when I was detected positive for a banned substance.
"That was a really difficult phase for me, and can’t even express it in words. I was worried about my image, and what would people think about me. That is when I went for London, to stay away from all this. There too, I didn’t step out of my room much."
Shaw was given a chance to redeem himself when India once again toured Australia in 2020-21. He played the first Test in Adelaide but could only score four runs in two innings. India made a stunning comeback in the series after the first game but Shaw didn't feature in those three encounters. He was then dropped for the home series against England, but since then he has been in amazing form.
The 21-year-old worked on his batting technique and hammered 827 runs in eight innings in the 2020–21 Vijay Hazare Trophy and played a massive role in helping Mumbai win the title. He slammed four centuries in the tournament, including a double hundred. He was also having a solid IPL 2021 before it was suspended. Playing for Delhi Capitals, Shaw hit 308 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 166.48.
He is now likely to be a part of India's white-ball unit that will travel to Sri Lanka in July.
