10 things you didn't know about Prithvi Shaw, the youngest member of the Indian Test squad
A few days ago, India's Test squad for the last two matches against England was announced. One of the two new players who made the cut is an18-year-old right-handed batsman from Mumbai, Prithvi Shaw.
Shaw who is rated as one of the brightest young talents has performed extremely well in the domestic circuit and has made his way into the Indian side. The young lad first came into prominence when he led India to the Under-19 World Cup title in February 2018. Now, he got a national call as a result of his impressive performances in red ball cricket for Mumbai and India A.
As Shaw makes his entry on the biggest stage, let us take a look at 10 unknown facts about him:
1) Prithvi Shaw was born on 9 November 1999, one day after Sachin Tendulkar's famous 186 against New Zealand in Hyderabad. The masterful knock by Sachin remained the highest individual score by an Indian cricketer before the little master recorded the historic double century in 2010.
2) Prithvi Shaw was just three years old when was enrolled in Virar Cricket Academy by his father, Pankaj Shaw. Just a year later, a young Shaw had to face the grief of his mother's death. The untimely incident forced Pankaj Shaw to quit his clothing business to focus on his son's budding cricketing career.
3) Shaw later got enrolled in the famous Middle Income Group (MIG) Cricket Club in Mumbai and had to commute a distance of 70km from Virar to Mumbai every morning for training.
In 2010, Nikesh Kulkarni owned sports management company offered Prithvi a contract worth ₹3,00,000. The deal helped Prithvi Shaw and his father to move to a flat in Santa Cruz.
4) Prithvi Shaw first captured the nation's attention at the tender age of 14, when he smashed the then record for the most runs in an innings by an Indian cricketer in minor cricket. Shaw scored 546 off 330 balls for Rizvi-Springfield against D'Assisi High School in the Harris Shield tournament of 2013-14.
5) Following the record innings, Shaw bagged a lucrative deal worth ₹ 36 lakh with SG, a top sports equipment manufacturer. The deal relieved the youngster of all the financial tensions, allowing him to focus on his cricketing career.
6) Shaw made his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai in the all crucial semi-final against Tamil Nadu in the 2016-17 season. Aged 17 years 153 days, he scored 120 runs in the final innings of the semifinal to help his side win the match and in the process, he became the youngest player to score a century in a Ranji knockout game.
7) Just like Sachin Tendulkar, Shaw managed to score hundreds on Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy debuts. By scoring a century at the age of 17 years 320 days, he came the second youngest player to score a century in Duleep trophy, behind the little master.
Shaw missed the chance of emulating Sachin's record of a debut ton in Irani Cup debut as he could manage only 51 on his debut.
8) Following a successful Under 19 World Cup, Prithvi Shaw was bought by Delhi Daredevils for ₹ 1.2 Crore, 6-times his base price. Making his IPL debut against Kings XI Punjab at the age of 18 years 165 days, he became the youngest ever opener in the history of the tournament.
In his very next IPL game, Shaw made a half-century against Kolkata Knight Riders and became the joint youngest player to score an IPLhalf-century at the age 18 years 169 days.
9) The youngster has an impressive first-class record which helped him carve his way into the Indian Test side. In the 14 matches that he played so far, he scored 1418 with an average of 56.72. In the 26 innings that he played, he went onto score 7 centuries and 5 half-centuries.
Recently playing for the India A team, he notched up two big centuries - 188 against West Indies A in Beckenham, England and 136 against South Africa A in Bengaluru.
10) Shaw's favourite cricketer is the great Sachin Tendulkar and after Shaw's selection to the national team, the master blaster, in his 100MB app, spoke about the advice that he gave to the young batsman a while ago.
"I asked him not to change his grip or stance, irrespective of any future instructions from his coaches. If anyone asks you to do so, tell them to come to talk to me. Coaching is good, but overcooking a player with tweaks is no. It is so important not to change anything when you see such a special player. It is God's gift to have a complete package."
Sachin also vividly remembered the first memory watching Prithvi Shaw play.
"Around ten years ago, one of my friends asked me to take a look at the young Prithvi. He asked me to analyse his game and give him some advice. I had a session with him and gave couple of pointers on how to improve his game," Tendulkar later told his friend: "Are you watching? That's a future India player."