Prithvi Shaw began his Test career with a scintillating century against the West Indies at Rajkot in 2018. The Mumbaikar had a dream debut Test series as he aggregated 237 runs at an average of 118.50 across three innings and earned the ‘Player-of-the-Series’ award.
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Subsequently, he embarked on the Australia tour with a lot of expectations. However, the U-19 World Cup-winning skipper suffered a huge setback as he got ruled out of the Test series Down Under due to an ankle injury.
The 20-year-old was then targetting the home season for his comeback before the BCCI handed him a backdated eight-month suspension for doping violation on July 30 last year.
After serving the ban, Prithvi Shaw proved his mettle in domestic cricket once again and then got recalled in the national side during the tour of New Zealand earlier this year.
Having made his return to the India set-up, Shaw affirms that he did not get carried away and that he wants to respond to criticism with his bat.
"Yes, winning the U-19 WC and then hitting a century on my Test debut were really big moments for me, but I don't think I got carried away," he told The Times of India.
"Some things like the doping ban were within my control, but things like the unfortunate ankle injury were not in my control. I have realised that I cannot keep 100% people happy all the time."
"However, I know that criticism is also a part and parcel of life. The idea is to take constructive criticism positively and keep on improving. 2019 wasn't that great, but there's always a silver lining to things. I just want to respond to all of that with my bat."
The youngster had inadvertently consumed a banned substance terbutaline without availing Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) certificate.
Recalling that difficult phase, Shaw said he has learned his lessons from it and is now careful even when taking cough syrup.
"Even if you take a small medicine, you must get it approved with your doctor or the BCCI doctors. It's better to ask the doctors about the banned substances and take necessary precautions so that you don't get into trouble. Like in my case, I had a cough syrup which I didn't know was a banned substance.
"I have learnt a lesson from this and will not repeat it. Even if I am having a basic medicine, I run that through the BCCI doctors to ensure that there are no banned substances in it. Time away from cricket was a difficult period for me. It was a torture. It should not happen to anyone," he stated.
