Shaw moved from Mumbai to Maharashtra in domestic cricket to start afresh.
Shaw, who made his India debut in 2018 with a century in his first-ever Test, made 339 runs in 5 Tests, 189 runs in 6 ODIs, and a golden duck on his T20I debut. He has not played for India since the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
Shaw stated on Wednesday, October 14, that he plays a virtual cricket career mode as himself and hits "400 or 500" to encourage himself when he has a bad day on the field, like going out on a duck.
Due to a decline in performance and a few off-field scandals, including police cases, BCCI sanctions, and rumors about his personal life, he has been left out of the Indian setup.
He has been given a new beginning by Maharashtra, and he appears to be enjoying his role as captain, temporarily replacing Ruturaj Gaikwad. In Delhi, Maharashtra defeated Services by 127 runs thanks to his scores of 70 and 7 in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2026/27 season.
“I play GTA, and then I play FIFA, of course. I am very good at FIFA. I play online sometimes. Then I play Tekken. What else do I play? I play cricket as well. I have my own career mode. I play as myself. If I get out for zero or something low, I go there and score 400 or 500. That is the kind of motivation I get from it. It is fun,” Shaw told India Today.
Shaw stated that he enjoys working on himself in private and that he dislikes stepping outside due to the attention he receives from the paparazzi. Shaw went on to say that he was still eager to play for India—not to disprove anyone, but for himself.
“If that goal were not there, I would not even be playing today. Obviously, the ultimate goal, the biggest goal, is to go back there and return to the Indian team. It is not about proving anything to anyone. It is me versus me. That is it," he said.