India batter Prithvi Shaw has the same aggressive tendencies as Virender Sehwag, and his country should keep faith in him.
That is the view of former Australia captain Michael Clarke, who thinks Prithvi has a lot of potential, and he has been encouraged by what he has seen.
Prithvi – who is 22 – is still trying to make his way at international level for the senior side, and he has been limited to five Test appearances for India.
After making his Test debut in 2018, Prithvi shone against the West Indies, as he scored 237 runs in three innings, and he produced a high score of 134.
However, things went awry in the 2020 on tour against Australia. In two innings, Prithvi mustered just four runs on his first visit Down Under.
Despite his troubles with the bat against the Aussies, Clarke has likened Prithvi to India legend Sehwag, who was relentless in his quest for excellence, scoring over 8,500 runs with the bat at Test level, and averaging just over 49.
He said: “He [Shaw] is a terrific player like Sehwag. Sehwag was a genius, who took the game forward. For someone like me, I love that brand of cricket.
“That aggressive batsman at the top of the order. That’s why Sehwag was one of my favourite players.
“I would like to see India keep faith in him, a player like Prithvi Shaw, knowing he is young.”
Competition is fierce at the top of the order for India, and they have a plethora of players who can churn out the runs, such as Cheteshwar Pujara and KL Rahul. Nevertheless, India have a busy Test itinerary over the next few months, including Test series against Sri Lanka and England, as well as plenty of ODI and T20 matches too, so they may have to reshuffle the squad. There is always plenty of interest in the Test fortunes of India, and they have an uncanny habit of producing top-quality batsmen. Aside from the overwhelming love shown by Indian fans towards the national team, there is usually a frenzy in the betting markets when it comes to cricket. Many of the best betting sites in India, such as bet365 and 10Cric will host a plethora of markets for Test matches, as well as other formats, so you can bet on who you will think be the top scorer after the first or second innings, or who will score a century. And with the aforementioned sites, you will be able to bet in-play, so you can see how your wager or wagers perform in real time.
In the case of Shaw, he is still very young, and he shouldn’t be disregarded just yet.
Shaw supposedly counts Ricky Ponting as one of his cricketing idols, and while there may be some flaws in his technique, these can be ironed out.
Receiving such praise from Clarke should be a source of motivation for Shaw, who will come good. It’s just a matter of time.
Hopefully, India will be able to see his potential, and he will be able to show that he can cope in all conditions, and across all formats of the game. Perhaps, the next time he gets selected to tour Australia, he won’t be as daunted as on his previous outing.
