Hailed as one of the next-gen stars of the Indian cricket team – Prithvi Shaw constantly carries the burden to justify his sheer talent and flair which prompted the selectors to fast-track him to the highest level of cricket. Shaw, who had risen to prominence after a successful India Under-19 campaign, has failed badly in the first Test against Australia in Adelaide which made fans or experts to question his place in playing XI. More than his scores of 0 & 4, it’s the manner in which Shaw got out in both innings highlighted the glaring technical flaw in his batting style.
In an exclusive interview with IANS, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar points out a few issues with the 21-year-old’s tecnhique. Tendulkar feels Shaw’s legs and bat are reacting late to the ball and that opens up a gap between his bat and pad. He believes that happens to batsmen when they have too many things going on in their heads or if they are expecting a short delivery.
“Prithvi is a talented player but at this point of time I feel his hands are moving away from his body. So, whenever the ball comes back sharply off the seam there is a possibility that, considering how he has got out, bowlers would continue to hope that they have some chance there.”
“His hands need to be closer to his body. His back lift is going from almost fourth slip to gully before coming down — it’s making a full arc, instead of moving back and forth like a pendulum. If the bat comes a fraction late then the ball will find the gap between the bat and pad,” the legendary SRT said.
Shaw lasted a total of six balls and managed only four runs, including a duck in the first innings, in the first Test against Australia. India lost by eight wickets well inside three days in Adelaide Saturday.
In their second innings, India were shot out for their lowest total in their Test history — 36 runs — beating their previous ‘record’ of 42 made against England in 1974 at Lord’s, London.
“I also noticed, he was caught on the move and was a fraction late on the ball. I’d say if he starts preparing a slightly early to play the ball that can also help. Both innings his front foot hadn’t landed when the ball passed him and that can happen to batters when they have too many things going on in their heads or they are expecting a short delivery,” the Master Blaster added.
Tendulkar also believes India would badly miss their premier paceman Mohammad Shami, who has been ruled out of the series with a fracture, in the remaining three Tests.
“India will 100 per cent miss Shami. He has been one of the leading bowlers, without a doubt. He’s really done well in the past and he’s an important element of our bowling attack; one of the spearheads. Along with Jasprit Bumrah, he was the preferred choice and one was only looking at the third seamer for the first Test.”
Tendulkar, who aggregated 34,357 runs and 100 centuries in 664 international matches, feels it is “not easy to overcome this” as ‘performances like these stay’ with players for a while, but if they infuse a combined dose of “grit, discipline, and planning” into their game, it can help the team perform well, again.
