Delhi Capitals’ (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting predicted that the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2023 will be Prithvi Shaw’s biggest season ever in the tournament.
Ponting further said that Shaw is working really hard leading into the upcoming IPL 2023, and the Indian opener looks really different and more hungry than ever, as he is ready to steal the show in the league.
However, the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) could prove to be a big one for the Delhi Capitals batter, and head coach Ricky Ponting is hopeful for the same.
Ricky Ponting told reporters: “He's been here right from the start actually. He was training at the NCA and left there as soon as he could to come and join our training camps. He's worked harder and trained better than I've ever seen Prithvi Shaw leading into an IPL before.”
The DC coach continued, “He's in better physical shape than I've ever seen him before. I spoke with him the other day about his attitude and the way that he's working and how things are going. And I honestly feel this is going to be his biggest season ever in the IPL.
He just has that different look in his eye this year. You can see him probably hungry than ever. And yeah, he has had some success for us. But I think you know the level of talent and ability that he's got, I think we're really going to see the real Prithvi Shaw this season.”
Meanwhile, Shaw recently made headlines for a brawl with a fan in Mumbai, who reportedly tried to injure the opener with a baseball bat, but Ponting stressed that he is "in a better space than ever before."
Ponting said, “You know one thing that I always say to our players is 'I don't like laziness and I don't like guys not utilizing the talent that they've got'. If I can see that guys aren't working as hard as they should, they're not getting the most out of them, then it's up to me to try and change that.
So, it just seems to me that this season something has really clicked with Prithvi. He seems in a better space than ever before. In fact, he's done extra work every session since we've been here, whether it's been on his batting, his fitness or his fielding.”
He signed off by saying, “So that's a great sign. And as I said the game of cricket, if you don't pay full attention to the game, it'll take away from you. But if you put in and do the hard yards then the game will give back to you all the time.”
(Hindustan Times inputs)