In-form Prithvi’s coach Prashant Shetty does not feel the Mumbai batsman was ignored for World Test Championship and England tour for not matching Team India’s fitness levels
Prithvi Shaw. Pic/AFP
Prithvi Shaw is out of favour yet again. This time he is excluded from the England-bound Test team which will play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand (June 18 to 22) followed by a five-match Test series. The Pataudi Trophy kicks off at Nottingham on August 4.
Virat Kohli will lead the team for the first time abroad since his paternity leave-caused departure after the Adelaide Test against Australia last December.
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While it is expected that Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will open the innings, Shaw has been ignored for what would have been his first Test tour of England.
Though he struggled against the Australian bowlers in Adelaide, where India were bowled out for their lowest Test score of 36, Shaw bounced back strongly in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and IPL-14.
Prashant Shetty
Now, fitness issues are cited as a reason for his exclusion. Shaw’s childhood coach Prashant Shetty quashed all such talk. “I think Prithvi is match fit; he has played a number of matches [since February in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and IPL]. He was scoring consistently and spent a lot of hours on the field. He always runs hard between the wickets,” Shetty told mid-day on Tuesday.
With so much emphasis on fitness, pundits reckon he does not match the standards that are set. Shetty remarked vehemently: “He cannot be a Hardik Pandya, because Hardik’s fitness is totally different. Of course, there is room for improvement and he needs to improve on his fitness, which is an ongoing process. He is working on it.”
Shaw led from the front to help Mumbai emerge Vijay Hazare Trophy champions with him scoring 827 runs in eight games last March. His form seemed to have spilled over to the IPL where he smashed 308 runs for Delhi Capitals (DC) in eight matches.
“Prior to the IPL, in the 50-overs Vijay Hazare tournament, he had big hundreds under his belt and dominated the opponents in every game. Being a Mumbai captain he was on the field throughout 50 overs and his fielding was outstanding as well. So, I don’t think there are any issues about his fitness levels,”
remarked Shetty.
Shaw, 21, has scored 339 in five Tests while in three ODIs, he has managed 84 runs.
“It is disappointing that Prithvi will not be in England for the WTC final as well as for five-Test series v England. I don’t think they [selectors] have ignored him totally. They might have plans for him. He has not only scored those runs but his strike rate [166 in IPL-14] and the way he outclassed opponents which included some top-class overseas bowlers, was simply amazing,” Shetty concluded.
Team India will play three ODIs and as many T20Is against hosts Sri Lanka in July and Shaw is likely get another chance to play with his fellow DC opener Shikhar Dhawan.
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