Author and Entrepreneur Ankur Warikoo body shames Prithvi Shaw on social media; Later apologizes for the same
Out-of-favor Indian opener Prithvi Shaw smashed a magnificent double century in the ongoing England ODI Cup for his county side Northamptonshire against Somerset at Northampton. However, in an unfortunate turn of events, the photo of him celebrating the landmark was used to troll the batter on his appearance.
Former CEO of Accentium Web and Groupon India and Author Ankur Warikoo initially posted a Tweet body shaming Prithvi Shaw in response to a user.
The user posted on top of the image of Prithvi Shaw celebrating his double century:
"Indian diet and genetics are unparalleled This is a 23 year old Indian athlete 23!"
To which Ankur Warikoo responded:
"Bet his mom thinks 'patla ho gaya hai' :))"
This led to an outrage among fans, who slammed the tweet and came to Shaw's rescue. However, a section of fans also used it to troll Prithvi Shaw regarding his appearance.
Hours later, Mr. Warikoo, in the realization of his mistake, issued an apology on Twitter, stating:
"I realize my mistake after people's responses. This pic is Prithvi Shaw's who lost his mother at the age of 4. Which makes my post extremely insensitive and not something I am proud of. In an attempt to invoke my mom's natural reaction to my fitness levels in my 20s, I made a horrible mistake."
"@PrithviShaw I do not expect you to read this or least of all forgive me. But it is my responsibility to apologize for this. I am truly sorry. For clarification - I do not follow cricket actively, so I was not aware of Prithvi (beyond his name). Would have acted differently was I aware of him and his history. PS: Not deleting this post, so that this continues to act as a reminder to me."
His apology finally settled the episode and prevented it from escalating further, with several fans already taking Ankur Warikoo to task over the body shaming of the batter.
Prithvi Shaw, meanwhile, will continue to let his bat do the talking in the ODI Cup.
Prithvi Shaw has been in scintillating form in the English ODI Cup
Prithvi Shaw has been in magnificent form in the ongoing ODI Cup as he looks to work his way back into the reckoning for the Indian team.
Following an elegant 34 off 35 balls in Northamptonshire's opening game against Gloucestershire, the 23-year-old scored another quick-fire 26 off 17 deliveries in their first win of the tournament.
However, the youngster finally capitalized on his start by scoring a breathtaking 244 off just 153 balls, with 28 fours and 11 sixes. Shaw reached his double hundred in 129 deliveries and became just the third cricketer to score a 200 in the tournament's history.
He also broke the record for the highest individual score set by Ollie Robinson in 2022 and recorded the sixth-highest score in List-A history. Shaw also joined three other cricketers - Rohit Sharma, Travis Head, and Ali Brown in scoring multiple double-centuries in List-A cricket.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) batter will be back in action when Northamptonshire takes on Durham on Sunday, August 13.