“I can’t bat like Pujara…”: Prithvi Shaw’s bizarre statement on his aggressive batting style

Shaw is currently plying his trade in the 2023 Duleep Trophy, representing West Zone.

By Salman Anjum - 09 Jul, 2023

After an impressive start to his international career, India’s young batter Prithvi Shaw is currently enduring a lean patch. The last time he played for the country was back in July 2021 in a T20I game against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Despite struggling with his willow, Shaw vowed to stick to the methods that have given him results so far, referring to his aggressive batting approach.

The Mumbai-based batter is currently plying his trade in the 2023 Duleep Trophy, representing West Zone.

Shaw failed to make a mark in West Zone’s match against Central Zone, registering scores of 26 and 25 in two innings. He will get another chance to prove his worth in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone, starting July 12.

“Personally, I feel I don’t have to change my game, but a little smarter than what I am. I can’t bat like Pujara sir bats or Pujara sir can’t bat like me. So, what I am trying to do are those things that have brought me here till, for example, the aggressive batting, I don’t like to change that,” Shaw said, as quoted by PTI.

The right-hander is keen to play as many games as possible at this stage of his career, acknowledging that every run would be very important for him in his endeavour to make a comeback.

"I think whichever game for me right now is as important as anything. Even if I'm playing Duleep Trophy or my Mumbai game, I feel it's very important for me to bring out my best," he added.

Shaw admitted that the conditions were a bit tough for the batters in the Duleep Trophy semi-final between West Zone and Central Zone.

"It's not that you can always be perfect but I try to work harder after these kinds of things happen (not getting runs). T20 is a bit more slashing, but a similar mindset. Not the similar way as in T20 with me when I am playing red ball cricket as well," he stated.

"What I should try is to play with bowlers, distract them, and force them to give the ball that you want and not the ball that they want to bowl," he further said.

Shaw insisted that he remains confident about his red ball form but “everything is going opposite” when it comes to white-ball cricket.

"Everything has been going nice in red ball cricket from last year itself after I scored 370 (379 vs Assam). With white ball, especially the IPL, I feel everything is going the opposite. You just have 20 overs to think about batting. I speak to Sourav (Ganguly) sir, Ricky (Ponting) sir and Praveen (Amre) sir (in Delhi Capitals).

“But red ball cricket is where you get tested and shows how capable you are to get into the bigger level,” he concluded.

(With PTI Inputs)

By Salman Anjum - 09 Jul, 2023

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