Chandigarh, December 2, 2024 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau) –Amid claims that Prithvi Shaw made ₹30 to 40 crore by the age of 23, the youngster’s first coach, Santosh Pingutkar, is sad to see how things have transpired for the player once called India’s ‘next Sachin Tendulkar’. Shaw, 25, has been out of the national reckoning for almost three years, but he endured a new low last week, going unsold at the IPL mega auction in Jeddah. Released by Delhi Capitals during the IPL retentions announced in October, Shaw did not find a single taker during the two-day event. His former coaches, Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid, were all in attendance during the auction, but no one even flinched when Shaw’s name came up for bidding. The disinterest levels in Shaw were such that he wasn’t even shortlisted during the accelerated process.
Shaw’s decline has left him deserted. He was already dropped from Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy squad, and to make matters worse, his outings of 33, 0, 23 and 40 in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy hasn’t exactly set the tournament ablaze either. In such a scenario, Pingutkar, who helped Shaw during his formative years, can only hope that things get better for his protégé.
“He is just 25 years old. He still has age in his hand. He can bounce back with hard work if he wants to sustain in competitive cricket,” he told ETV Bharat. “He is just 25 years old. He still has age in his hand. He can bounce back with hard work if he wants to sustain in competitive cricket.”
Shaw’s fortunes have swung the entire arc in the last six years. From leading India to the Under-19 World Cup and scoring a century on his Test debut to getting banned, embroiled in controversies, and eventually, his ouster from the Indian team, to say that Shaw has had a roller-coaster ride would be an understatement. However, as Pingutkar pointed out, the bigger picture is Shaw’s involvement in ‘groups outside cricket’.
Summary: Prithvi Shaw’s coach expressed disappointment over the player’s involvement with groups outside of cricket, noting that while other aspects of his life grew, his cricket performance declined.