Mumbai cricket team skipper Shreyas Iyer minced no words while commenting on batter Prithvi Shaw following the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. From being pulled up for being overweight to facing flak over his poor form, the young opener has been embroiled in controversies over the last two months. Despite showing some promising signs with the bat in SMAT, Shaw failed to live up to the expectations, casting aspersions on his future.
“Can’t babysit” Prithvi Shaw: Shreyas Iyer
Speaking to reporters after Mumbai’s win in SMAT final against Madhya Pradesh, Shreyas Iyer pointed out that Prithvi Shaw needed to improve his work ethics. The Mumbai skipper stated that he cannot force the opener to improve his ethics and that it must come from within the player himself. He added that it was Shaw’s job to figure out how to improve his game, especially after getting inputs from all quarters.
“I think, personally, he is a God-gifted player. The amount of talent he possesses as an individual, no one has it. That’s true. It’s just that he needs to improve his work ethics. He needs to get his work ethics right. And if he does that, you know, sky is the limit for him. Can you force him to? I can’t force him. He has played so much of cricket. And everyone has given him inputs. At the end of the day, it’s his job to go out there and figure out things for himself,” Shreyas Iyer said.
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Shreyas Iyer further stated that it was impossible for him or the support staff to babysit Prithvi Shaw. He said that the opener needs to take a step back, put on his thinking cap and focus on improving his game.
“We can’t babysit anyone, right? Every professional who is playing at this level, they need to know what they should be doing. And he has also done it in the past. It’s not that he hasn’t. He has to focus. He has to sit back, put a thinking cap on and then figure out himself. He will get the answer. No one can force him to do anything,” Shreyas Iyer added.
Prithvi Shaw’s on and off field woes
The out-of-favour batter was first dropped from Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy squad midway through the tournament earlier this year. Reports had claimed that he was found to have 35% body fat, more than the permissible limit for players to take field. He was then given a lifeline by being included in the squad for SMAT. Despite playing all matches for Mumbai, Prithvi Shaw failed to convert his starts to good knocks. Ultimately, he finished the tournament without managing to score a single half-century. He went unsold at the IPL 2025 auction after being released by Delhi Capitals. With no franchise cricket or national team call-up on cards, Shaw has no option but to turn to domestic tournaments in order to revive his career.
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