Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting on Monday (April 11) showered rich praise on Prithvi Shaw, suggesting that the 22-year-old has as much talent as he has, if not more.
Shaw has been in great form in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), scoring back-to-back half-centuries in the last two matches (51 off 29 balls against KKR and 61 off 34 balls against LSG).
The young batter has been representing the Delhi franchise since 2018 and after having a great season in 2021, he was retained by the franchise.
Ponting stated on the Delhi Capitals podcast that he wants to develop Shaw into a player who represents India in over 100 Test matches.
“If I look at Prithvi’s play, he has got every bit as much talent as I had, if not more, and I want to be able to turn him into a player that plays over 100 Test matches for India and represents his country as much as possible," he said.
SEE ALSO: WATCH - Sunil Gavaskar cheekily asks about Kohinoor to Alan Wilkins; Twitterati reacts
The two-time World Cup winner then reflected on his time in the Mumbai Indians (MI) camp, where he worked with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, the former of whom has gone on to captain the Indian team in all three formats and the latter has been an integral part of the national squad.
"If I look back through the teams that I’ve been around when I took over the Mumbai Indians, Rohit was very young, Hardik Pandya hadn’t played, Krunal hadn’t played. A lot of the guys that I have coached there have gone on to play cricket for India, and that’s what I want to do here," he added.
The 22-year-old made his international debut in 2018 in a home series against West Indies, where scored 237 runs in two Tests at an average of 118.5. He has not been able to solidify his spot since then owing to recurring ailments, fitness concerns, and uneven performance.
Shaw in the 15th edition of the IPL has scored 160 runs in just 4 matches and holds the 7th position in the highest run-getter list.
The young batter and David Warner have already proven to be a great opening pair for the franchise, stitching two back-to-back half-centuries stands.
(NEWS18 INPUTS)
