Ranji Trophy: Teen sensation Prithvi Shaw makes it to Mumbai squad

Mumbairsquos Prithvi ShawFortynine days after celebrating his 17th birthday Mumbai teenager Prithvi Shaw received a surprise gift The young cricketer got a maiden callup to play for Mumbai in the allimportant Ranji Trophy semifinal clash against Tamil Nadu that begins on January 1 in Rajkot Shaw was included in the side in place of opener Kevin DAlmeida who failed to make an impression in the quarters against Hyderabad scoring nine and one respectively while opening the innings Mumbai beat Hyderabad by 30 runsShaw who was the vicecaptain of the India under19 team in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka scored 39 off 36 balls in the final where India beat the hosts by 34 runs As an opener Shaw emerged the fourth highest runscorer in the tournament with 191 runs from five matchesShaw felt the Ranji selection was a total surprise I did not expect this call so early because its a semifinal game It was a huge surprise for me This is my New Years gift in advance he told midday yesterday Yesterday he spent nearly five hours finetuning his batting skills first at the MIG CC ground in Bandra and later on at Air Indias turf in Kalina Highlevel practiceHe heard the news of his selection before heading to Kalina and he practised even harder there taking several throw downs He also practised the art of leaving deliveries which could have dismissed him in a match If I get an opportunity to play in the semis against Tamil Nadu I will play with the same approach that helped me during my performances so far including the under19 Asia Cup It will be a great experience for me to share the dressing room with players like Aditya Tare Abhishek Nayar Shreyas Iyer and Siddhesh Lad I will try and learn as much I can from these senior players Shaw explained In Ranji Trophy the bowling is much superior as compared to the under19 level But I dont think that will be a problem for me as I am ready to face any attack he added Speaking on Shaws inclusion Mumbai chief selector Milind Rege said He is scoring runs at the U19 level and repeated the same in the U19 Asia Cup also He is the man in form and we are looking for an opener so we thought this is the right time to select him Lets see how he playsMuzumdar shares adviceFormer Mumbai skipper Amol Muzumdar who scored 260 against Haryana in his debut Ranji game in 199394 season when he just 19 advised Shaw to play according to the situation He should not be worried about other things and has to focus on the match He should play according to the situation rather anything else I am sure he will do well He has got the potential I have seen him and have even coached him at the India U19 camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore said MuzumdarIts important that cricketers at such a tender age are provided with financial support that would allow them to concentrate on their game In this regard Shaw was lucky to have received support from cricket mentor Makarand Waingankar right from the age of 14 Its really important that someone helps young cricketers at the right time as cricket equipment is very costly When Shaw was just another player three years ago I spoke to Paras Anand of Sanspareils Greenlands bats They sponsored him to the tune of R36 in terms of equipment lakh for six years Waingankar said