Prithvi Shaw: The 'next Tendulkar' could well become the 'next Kambli'

More than six years ago, TV pundit and former India international Ravi Shastri had referred to him as the ‘next Sachin Tendulkar’ after a blazing century on Test debut against the West Indies. Today, the talk on Prithvi Shaw is whether he has become the ‘next Vinod Kambli’ for the manner in which his career has gone downhill over the last few years.  

At 25, the gifted opener finds himself making headlines for all the wrong reasons these days. The final straw was when last month, he went unsold in the IPL mega auction after Delhi Capitals had released him after a long association of six years, an indication of his falling stock despite keeping a base price of Rs 75 lakh.

Mumbai, a team which he led not too long ago, dropped him from its Ranji Trophy squad for being overweight before drafting him in again for the ongoing T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Looking obese and unfit for the rigours of top-flight cricket, Shaw managed to get starts against Kerala and Nagaland but fell for two ducks as well, which did not do his reputation any good.

It was in mid-2021 that Prithvi, who famously led India to under-19 World Cup success in 2018 with the likes of Shubman Gill playing under him, got his last chance to play for India in an ODI series against Sri Lanka. The batter, who was first-choice opener during India’s last tour of Australia, was part of the squad against New Zealand in 2023 but couldn't get a look-in in the playing XI.

There are no prizes for guessing that the trappings of wealth and early stardom are taking their toll, and no wonder comparisons with the immensely gifted Kambli, the childhood friend of Tendulkar and a man with a tragic flaw, are coming up. Shaw has gradually become controversy’s favourite child, be it a doping scandal, complaints of attitude problem from none other than former Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting, and the nightclub fiasco involving social media influencer Swapna Gill.

Pravin Amre, another former international who mentored Shaw throughout his long stay with the Delhi franchise, was particularly scathing in an interview last week. ‘’My intention was just to give a rap on his knuckles, nothing else,’’ said Amre, a product of the same stable run by legendary coach Ramakant Achrekar that produced Tendulkar and Kambli.

Speaking to National Herald, a concerned Amre said: ‘Let’s be honest, Prithvi has been warned a number of times to mend his ways. It’s always possible for him to turn a corner as he is only 25 and has time on his side. The road to recovery, however, will not be easy. He has to shed at least 10 kg of weight and spend more and more time at the nets’’

Soon after Shaw cut a sorry figure during his Australia tour of 2020-21, he reached out to Amre to sort out a few technical glitches in his batting. ‘’I helped him the way I could but the issue here is not that of form, it’s about re-orienting his priorities in life. In a T20 game, someone like Prithvi can be a nightmare for bowlers if he stays around for 120 deliveries, but he has to remain focused on the game for that to happen.’’

The snub to Shaw at the Jeddah IPL auction has become such a talking point that Kevin Pietersen, ‘KP’ to the cricketing world, has weighed in. ‘’Some of the greatest sports stories are COMEBACK stories. If Prithvi Shaw has decent people around him who care about his long term success, they’d sit him down, tell him to get off social media & train his absolute backside off in getting super fit. It’ll get him back into the correct path where past success can return. Too talented to throw it all away. Love, KP!,’’ Pietersen wrote in an X post.

A well-meaning piece of advice, but the million dollar question is: will Prithvi listen to the din or hurtle towards the abyss at greater speed?