Delhi Capitals (DC) opener Prithvi Shaw has had a terrible start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season, registering scores of 12, 7, 0, 15, 0 and 13 in six matches.
Shaw was used as an Impact Player in the three games but he failed to replay the faith of the team management. As it turned out, the 23-year-old was eventually dropped from DC’s line-up late last month.
With the Capitals already out of the playoffs race, Prithvi Shaw was given another opportunity on Wednesday (May 17) against Punjab Kings and the right-hander made a mark with a stunning knock of 54 in 38 balls.
Before the PBKS versus DC clash in Dharamsala, former India opener Virender Sehwag recalled his lesser-known interaction with Shaw while discussing his dismal IPL 2023 campaign.
Sehwag also narrated a fascinating anecdote about meeting the legendary Sunil Gavaskar during the 2003-2004 season.
"He (Prithvi Shaw) did an ad shoot with me. Shubman Gill was also there. None of them talked about cricket for once. We were there for 6 hours. If you want to talk to someone then you have to approach them. When I was new to the team, I wanted to talk to Sunny Bhai (Gavaskar), So I said to John Wright that 'I'm still a new player, I don't know whether Sunny Bhai will meet me or not', but you should organise that meeting. So Wright organised a dinner in 2003-04 for me and I also said that my (opening) partner Aakash Chopra will also come so that we can talk about batting. So he came and had dinner with us. So, you have to make that effort. Sunil Gavaskar won't make an effort to talk to Sehwag or Chopra. You have to request him," Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
Talking about Shaw, Sehwag also highlighted the importance of tightening up the mental game to achieve fruitful results.
“He gave his input and we talked for a long. And we were rewarded for that conversation. But you have to put in that effort. Gavaskar will never make an effort to talk to Virender Sehwag or Aakash Chopra. So one has to make a request for that. If Shaw handed such a request so I'm sure someone would have...he is playing for Delhi, so if you wanted to talk, he should have handed a request to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of DC. In cricket, no matter how much talented you are. If you are not mentally up, if you are not fit mentally or don't tune your mind. Then nothing can be done,” he added.
