The chinks in Prithvi Shaw's armour: How did bowlers dismiss the opener in 2020?

Follow us on

The year 2020 hasn't been kind to most of us, not even to a prodigy who was hailed as a triad of Sachin, Sehwag and Lara by India's head coach Ravi Shastri. In 2013, Prithvi Shaw, a Mumbai whizz-kid who 14 back then, hammered 546 runs -- the highest score by an Indian batsman in minor cricket. Prithvi's record-breaking knock was enough for fans and experts to make an analogy between Shaw and Tendulkar, especially when both the whizzes have the Mumbai tag pinned on them. 

What followed was extraordinary. Four years later, Shaw found himself in the Indian red-ball squad, sharing the dressing room with the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. Giving a hint that the best is yet to come, Shaw slammed a brilliant 99-ball ton against West Indies, becoming the youngest-ever Indian player to achieve this milestone. It was also the third-fastest ton by any batsman on his Test debut. 

However, cricket, like any other sport, is a fickle game. And so is the future of a player. No matter how dextrous one is in the nets, there's always someone waiting to replace him in the national squad. A little more than a year ago, Shaw almost had sealed his place in the side, at least in the traditional format.

Here and now, Prithvi, after a string of dismal scores and questionable technique, is under heavy criticism for his batting technique. To make things worse for the 21-year-old, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are eagerly waiting in the shed to replace in the Boxing Day Test, scheduled to start from December 26th at the MCG. Even though Kohli is heading back home and leaving an empty slot in the batting unit, Shaw isn't assured game time and a place in the playing squad. Safe to say that his career right now is walking on a thin rope, entirely dependent on Gill's performance in the second Test. 

Though the entire Indian batting unit was shambolic while registering lowest ever total in their Test history in Adelaide, no other player than Shaw is facing such stiff competition for a spot in the playing XI. With figures of 0 and 4 against Australia in his last two batting outings, Shaw's torrid run with the bat continued with yet another lacklustre performance this year.

Shaw's batting technique has also been under scrutiny and many former cricketers including Sunil Gavaskar and Shane Warne believe that he's been leaving a big gap between the bat and the pad. Both dismissals of Shaw in the Adelaide Test exposed flaws in his batting technique. While Mitchell Starc tore through his defence in the first innings, Cummins shattered his woodwork in the second. 

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting, also Shaw's coach in his IPL franchise Delhi Capitals (DC), pointed out where it's gone wrong for the Mumbai chap.

"He's late on the ball, he's late moving his weight into the ball. If he actually gets a full stride over there, that eliminates that gap between pad and bat. You can see his foot off the ground. He makes about three movements with his front foot but his front foot doesn't actually go anywhere," Ponting accurately said on 7 Cricket.

In a short span of time, Shaw has endured a topsy-turvy ride in international cricket. It all started with Shaw's suspension for a doping violation after he ingested prohibited substance while taking cough syrup. The 'terbutaline' hiccup was probably the beginning of the chaos. Shaw has been struggling to move his front foot, especially when a bowler back a ball that pitches on the fourth stump and eventually hits middle or off. Taking Kohli into the picture, he also had to face an abysmal record in England during the 2014 tour, when he averaged just 14.33 against deliveries going away from him. 

After facing James Anderson's nightmarish spells and a forgetful series, Kohli's red-ball career was in jeopardy, especially when his weakness of facing the swing was exposed to the word. Kohli, however, took Sachin's advice to 'get towards the ball and give the ball lesser chance to move around and trouble you'. Evidently, Shaw is yet to find a solution to his footwork snag while facing the new ball early in the innings. 

Related Stories

AUS vs IND 1st Test: Prithvi Shaw's batting technique comes under scrutiny again

Pink-ball Test: Sunil Gavaskar takes hilarious jibe on poor Indian fielding

AUS vs IND 1st Test: Ricky Ponting points out flaws in Prithvi Shaw's footwork

AUS vs IND 1st Test | Mohammad Azharuddin wants Prithvi Shaw to improve his defence

AUS vs IND: Prithvi Shaw 'will struggle' at international level with his technique, says Warne

AUS vs IND 1st Test: Gavaskar calls for Prithvi Shaw's axe, backs Gill to make debut in next match

Shaw's troubles started with the New Zealand tour at the start of the year where he was castled by Kyle Jamieson's length delivery. With footwork which was going nowhere, Shaw's timber was rattled in the unofficial ODI between New Zealand A and India A at the Hagley Oval. After a couple of weeks, Jamieson again haunted Shaw with a similar kind of delivery in the second ODI of the three-game series.

The ball nipped back and went past a wide gap between the bat and the pad. Shaw's futile attempt to work on his flaws was spotted again when Tim Southee destroyed his defence with a jaffa. Though the ball moved away from Shaw this time, his footwork was again questionable. He attempted to play a loose drive when he lost the sight of the ball which went on to knock his off stump.

Summing up Shaw's performance against the Kiwis, he scored just 98 runs in two Tests and 84 in three ODIs. His average in either format wasn't above 30 and his only good performance was in the second Test in Christchurch, where he scored 54 in the first innings. Against the red ball, Shaw was dismissed twice due to his terrible footwork and twice against the short ball ploy. While in the ODIs, Shaw was fell in the same old trap off Jamieson's nipping-in delivery in the second game in Auckland. 

Shaw's couple of IPL 2020 dismissals are a testament to his appalling footwork. Against Jofra Archer's in-swinger which went through the gates before ruffling the stumps. The ball was just short of a length on the off stump, which Shaw tried to push before his middle stump was knocked off.

Needless to say, the Delhi Capitals opener had a substandard IPL season where he managed to score 228 runs in 13 games at a meagre 17.53 average. His footwork was all over the place when Mohammed Siraj beat his defence and bowled him. 

With India trailing 1-0 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, it would be a miracle if the team management still decides to stick with an out-of-form Shaw. Gavaskar, the first to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket, was also critical of the youngster's mediocre batting technique against quality Aussie pacers.

"The whole idea in Test match cricket is not to go there (take the bat far from the body) because then you are leaving a gap between bat and pad, allowing for late movement to get an inside edge or sneak between bat and pad," said the veteran. With Rohit Sharma likely to play third Test and Rahul being in impressive form lately, Shaw currently has no option than to hang loose in Australia.