Life has been an absolute rollercoaster of a ride if you’re name is Prithvi Shaw. Once touted to be the next big thing in Indian cricket, Shaw has fallen off the radar so much so that no team shelled out even Rs 75 lakh from their total purse of Rs 120 crore for him. Mumbai city is famous for producing batters who would feed generations. And Shaw was one of them, scoring a plethora of domestic runs and even leading the national Under-19 team to the famous World Cup win in 2018.
Fast forward to now; Shaw is not among the list of 158 Indian players selected to play the IPL 2025. While his name was called out by Malika Sagar, no IPL franchise showed a tinker of interest. It was a bit surprising, despite Shaw’s career going south with a plethora of controversies he has been associated with. But this article majorly talks about which IPL team could’ve benefitted from having Prithvi Shaw at the IPL 2025 auction.
IPL 2025: What does Prithvi Shaw offer?
Well, Shaw is known to be one of the most fearsome strikers. He is someone who can set the tone for any team. One who likes to take the game on and frustrate the new-ball bowlers with authoritative strokes. His IPL strike rate of 147.47 is a testament to that. Being an Indian is an advantage for sure. Hence, teams dependent on overseas batting options could’ve definitely looked at Shaw, who is just 25-year-old so far. Below we move ahead; let us look at the teams that didn’t need Shaw in the first place.
- Sunrisers Hyderabad: With Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, Shaw wasn’t needed.
- Mumbai Indians: MI signed Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks as potential partners to Rohit Sharma.
- Gujarat Titans: GT have a perfect opening partnership in Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler.
- Delhi Capitals: DC let go of Shaw at the first place, and hence it was expected for them not to go after him.
- Chennai Super Kings: CSK have brought back Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra to partner skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad.
- Kolkata Knight Riders: Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurabaz, and Sunil Narine—all overseas, but we get it.
More on IPL 2025
RCB, RR, LSG, PBKS—Why all teams need Prithvi Shaw!
Apart from the aforementioned teams, all other franchises could’ve looked to sign Prithvi Shaw. These teams include the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow Super Giants, and Punjab Kings. To put it simply, all the teams have opening conundrums.
Talking about RCB, they can’t afford to let Virat Kohi bat at number three again. But who will partner him? There is Phil Salt for sure but adding Shaw would’ve added much-needed cushion for the team that still hunts for their maiden IPL title. While Devdutt Padikkal is there, Shaw has a better upside with his trailblazing batting potential. As for RR, they have only Sanu Samson to partner Yashasvi Jaiswal. Yes, Samson is having the form of his life, but he has opened only 24 of the 163 times he has batted in the IPL. Adding Shaw would’ve further built the already strong Indian core at RR.
Prithvi Shaw: Most perfect for LSG, PBKS?
Now come two teams that might regret not buying Prithvi Shaw. The Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings (PBKS) entered the auction with almost (a combined) Rs 180 crore. Yet Prabhsimran Singh remains the only viable first-choice opener, that too, just for PBKS. Even Prabhsimran is yet to fulfil his potential and is not a certain 14-game-a-season player. Hence, Shaw would’ve been perfect for either PBKS or LSG.
As for PBKS, they have to partner Prabhsimran with either Jos Inglish or Marcus Stoinis. That means a void is left for sure. LSG, meanwhile, are in a worse position. They have no Indian (first-choice) opener. Both Himmat Singh and Ayush Badoni play in the middle order, and Arshin Kulkarni, the only opening option, has played just two IPL games (making 9 runs). Hence, Shaw would’ve been a bad choice. Yes, he has not been in tremenduous form for some time now. But if he clicks, he can really hammer those 25-ball 50s regularly.
Prithvi Shaw’s IPL/DC stats
| Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | Highest Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79 | 1892 | 23.94 | 147.46 | 0 | 14 | 99 |
