Prithvi Shaw

Shaw lost his mother when he was young, and his father, Pankaj Shaw, raised him alone. In 2006 Pankaj left his business behind and relocated the family from Virar to Mumbai so his son could be nearer the MIG ground in Bandra. In 2010 former Mumbai spinner Nilesh Kulkarni noticed the boy, and Kulkarni's sports management company signed him for INR 300,000 a year. Shaw was playing A division cricket by the age of 8 or 9. He also spent two months on the school circuit in England, piling up 1446 runs.

His senior career opened with hundreds on debut in both the Ranji Trophy (2016-17) and the Duleep Trophy (2017), a double the source says only Sachin Tendulkar had managed before him. He then led India at the 2018 U19 World Cup in New Zealand. With Rahul Dravid guiding the squad, India won the trophy, and their captain made 261 runs at an average of 65, including 2 fifties.

Shaw joined the Test squad in England for the final two matches but did not play. His debut finally came against the West Indies in Rajkot on 4 October 2018, and he marked it with a hundred off 99 balls. The good times faded on the 2020-21 tour of Australia. After making 0 and 4 in the first Test, he lost his place to Shubman Gill. A limited-overs recall against Sri Lanka went poorly, and injuries and fitness problems then kept him on the fringes in every format.

At the crease, Shaw holds the bat low and relies heavily on his bottom hand, which makes him a strong cutter and puller. However, his drives can leave a gap between bat and pad, and he has been bowled through it several times. In the IPL, Delhi signed him for 1.2 crore. He broke into the side when Gautam Gambhir lost form, began with 22 from 10 balls, and became a regular at the top of the order. His finest season was 2021, when he made 479 runs in 15 games at an average of 31.93 and a strike rate of 159.13. The year after, poor form and fitness troubles returned.