Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting, who recently parted ways with Delhi Capitals, has expressed his disappointment on not bringing the best out of India youngster Prithvi Shaw during his time with the IPL franchise.
Shaw announced his arrival to international cricket with a century on Test debut. However, the 24-year-old struggled to maintain his form and also went downhill fitness-wise.
As a result, the Mumbaikar fell behind in the packing order and he is currently not in the reckoning for India selection. The last time he played for the country was in July 2021.
Things turned so ugly for Shaw that he found himself out of DC’s playing XI in the IPL 2024 season.
"I mean to start with I don't like talking about individual players, but Prithvi shouldn't be an outlier. He should be someone that's in every team; the first pick in most teams with the skill that he's got. He's had a chance to represent India as a youngster, making a hundred on his Test debut," Ponting told Cricbuzz.
"And as you say, halfway through this year, we couldn't find a slot for him in our DC team. So that's disappointing for me as a coach not to be able to make certain players better and get the best out of them. But sometimes there's only so much you can give and so many times you can try," he added.
Ponting revealed that he had several discussions with Shaw in a bid to improve his cricketing skills. Despite these efforts, he acknowledged a limit to the impact a coach can have, saying, "When you feel like you're not making players better and they're not doing what you need for the team, then you've got to look for other players that can do it for you. So that then comes back to the player. With him in particular I've had a lot of chats with him, a lot of conversations to try and make him a better cricketer."
"I mean, he's still a young man. And he's still a very talented young player. And hopefully one day the penny really drops for him and he works out what he needs to do to be the best cricketer that he can be," he explained.
Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, a mega auction will take place and speculations are rife that Prithvi Shaw might well be released by the Delhi Capitals.
