Prithvi Shaw dropped a four-word post on his Instagram handle after being left out of Mumbai’s squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Tripura.
While the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) didn't explain the reason behind Shaw’s snub, reports are claiming that the 24-year-old lost his spot in state team on disciplinary grounds, including not taking nets practice and being overweight.
"Need a break thx," Shaw, the youngest Indian batter to score a century on Test debut, wrote on his Instagram story with a smiling emoji.
According to a report published in The Indian Express, Prithvi Shaw is deemed to be overweight and has been asked to follow two weeks of a fitness programme prepared by MCA trainers.
Apparently, the Mumbai team management has told the MCA that Shaw’s body contains 35 percent fat and he needs rigorous training before regaining his place in the side.
“He has been dropped and needs to go back to training and shed some body weight to be considered for selection,” an MCA official was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, Cricbuzz has reported that the MCA selection committee, comprising of Sanjay Patil (chairman), Ravi Thaker, Jeetendra Thackeray, Kiran Powar, and Vikrant Yeligeti, felt that indiscipline Shaw needed to be dropped for at least one game.
The selectors and team management believe that the omission might serve as a wakeup call to Shaw, who has reportedly been skipping practice sessions. When he does attend the net sessions, he tends to take it lightly.
According to a senior MCA source, both the selectors and the team management were on the same page in their decision to leave Shaw out of the squad.
Prithvi Shaw featured in Mumbai’s first two Ranji Trophy fixtures but he failed to make a mark with the bat. He registered scores of 7 and 12 runs against Baroda and returned with 1 and 39* against Maharashtra.
Mumbai Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore (WK), Siddhant Addhatrao (WK), Shams Mulani, Karsh Kothari, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Mohammad Juned Khan, Royston Dias
