There s no dearth of cricketing talent in India. It's the discipline that makes a cricketer sustain for a longer period of time at the international level. For Prithvi Shaw, there was no doubt about the talent the Mumbai batter possess, but its his discipline that let him down. Once dubbed as the next big thing by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the 25-year-old found himself at a crossroad when none of the 10 franchises bid for the right hander at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction, spread over two days.
Prithvi Shaw broke into the scene when he led India to their 2018 U-19 World Cup title in New Zealand under the coaching of great Rahul Dravid. The next year he made headlines once again when Shaw scored a century on Test debut against West Indies.
Touted as the next Sachin Tendulkar in the making, Shaw represented India in 12 matches (6 Tests, 5 ODIs and 1 T20I) before controversies became his long-time partner. He was handed a eight-month doping ban in 2020 before a selfie controversy ruined his reputation in 2023.
To add to that, he was recently dropped from Mumbai's Ranji Trophy squad for fitness issues. According to a report, it was none other than legendary Sachin Tendulkar who spoke to Shaw during his difficult time. While it remains a secret about what Tendulkar speaks to the players on a personal level, it is learnt that the Little Master's advice to Shaw was confined to just three words - ‘Discipline over talent’.
A former BCCI selector, who didn't wish to be named, Shaw didn't pay heed to the likes of Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting's advices.
“Prithvi has been in Delhi Capitals. In DC itself, he had a chance to interact with Rahul Dravid, who was also his U-19 India coach, Ricky Ponting, Sourav Ganguly,” the ex-BCCI selector told PTI.
"It's an open secret in Mumbai cricket that Tendulkar has also spoken to him. Are these legends fools? Do you see any change in him? Even if there is, it is not evident," he added.
Since making his debut for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2018 IPL, Shaw has been with the same franchise until the last month when he was among of the released players. In IPL, Shaw played 79 matches and scored 1892 runs at an average of 23.95. He scored 14 fifties in all with a best of 99, which came against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2019 season.
