Prithvi Shaw likely to miss entire Ranji Trophy 2024 campaign despite months of rehabilitation at the NCA - Reports
Indian opening batter Prithvi Shaw is unlikely to receive clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to partake in the 2024 Ranji Trophy campaign for Mumbai, according to CricketNext.
Shaw has been out of action since August 2023, with his last competitive stint being with the Northamptonshire in England's county competition. The youngster was in fine touch, scoring a historic List A double hundred, and compiling a successive hundred, before a knee injury while fielding cut his campaign short.
The opening batter missed the white-ball domestic competitions in India as a result of the injury, and by the looks of it, he is set to miss the red-ball domestic tournament as well.
He has resumed batting in the nets at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), with the 24-year-old himself sharing a few snippets of his sessions on social media. However, the coaches at the NCA do not wish to rush Shaw into a rigorous avenue like four-day red-ball matches.
“Prithvi Shaw has been in the NCA for months now, doing rehab and following all the necessary recovery protocols. It is safe to say that he is batting normally in the nets but is still a bit far from getting clearance to play competitive cricket again. As of now, it looks very unlikely that he will play the Ranji Trophy,” a source close to the cricketer said (via News 18).
“It is highly unlikely that NCA will give clearance to play Ranji Trophy directly. No one wants him to have a breakdown after such a long rehab programme, so it’s a rather safe approach to have him back in a shorter format. By then, there will be enough time to put the body through match simulations and other high-intensity drills,” the source added.
The player's case for a Return to Play (RTP) clearance could have been considered had it been a short-format tournament instead of the Ranji Trophy. As a result, his realistic return could be viewed at the upcoming 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL), where he represents the Delhi Capitals (DC).
Prithvi Shaw last played for India during the tour of Sri Lanka in 2021
Prithvi Shaw's promising career has come to a standstill on the back of inconsistency as well as a few off-field issues. The youngster had served a suspension laid out by the BCCI after testing positive for a banned substance back in 2019.
After playing a couple of matches on Team India's tour of Sri Lanka in 2021, the opening batter had a spell away from the team. However, following a prolific domestic campaign in 2022-23, where he registered his career-best score of 379 in the Ranji Trophy, Prithvi Shaw earned a recall for the home T20I series against New Zealand in early 2023, but could not avail of a chance.