Former India opener and Mumbai great Wasim Jaffer said he is a little concerned with the way Prithvi Shaw’s international career has panned out so far, saying the young India opener needs to focus on being disciplined.
Wasim Jaffer said Prithvi Shaw doesn’t have to look too far for role models with the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who are ‘grounded’ despite the success they have been able to achieve.
Prithvi Shaw, who led India to India to U-19 World Cup glory in 2018, had a dream debut for India as he scored a hundred against the West Indies in Rajkot and followed it up with a fifty in Hyderabad in October 2018.
Shaw was set for his first major overseas tour with the senior team as India toured Australia in 2018-19 but the youngster returned home without playing a Test after suffering an ankle injury during a warm-up match. Shaw had to wait for more than a year to return to the Test side as he was also banned for doping violation after IPL 2019.
“He is a special talent and I am a little disappointed with the way things have taken its course after his ankle injury and then his ban for using the banned substance,” Wasim Jaffer told AFP.
“Seeing all this troubles me, because he is very, very talented. But he needs to be disciplined if he wants to achieve great things. He is living in that Indian circle where he has got role models like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan who are so disciplined.”
‘Virat Kohli keeps himself grounded’
Shaw himself admitted that comparison to Sachin Tendulkar does put pressure on him but that he is finding ways to cope up with it.
“There is pressure when people compare me to him. But I take it as a challenge. I try to play like him. He is the god of cricket,” Shaw had said during an Instagram chat with Delhi Capitals.
Jaffer said it’s natural that a player of Shaw’s talent will get compared to legendary names from Mumbai cricket but it’s up to the individual to deal with it if he is to be successful.
“Whenever you perform at the top level, the media and the people hype you so much, but it is an individual’s responsibility to learn,” Jaffer said.
“There is much competition and he missed so many Tests and internationals and does not need to do that because this is his time to fulfil his potential.
“Virat keeps himself grounded. Every rising batsman in Mumbai circles is right away compared to Tendulkar. Everything boils down to performance.”
