A series of unfortunate episodes over the last few weeks saw Prithvi Shaw hit another low as his career continued to take a downward spiral reminiscent of that of Vinod Kambli. But former national selector Jatin Paranjape is not yet ready to label it as a “doomsday scenario” for the former India U-19 World Cup-winning captain, as he reckoned Shaw currently needs a “complete overhaul of his mental thinking.”
In mid-October, Shaw was dropped from Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy team, reportedly for being overweight. However, he did get a chance to his worth when the Mumbai selectors picked him for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament. Days later, he went unsold at the IPL 2025 mega auction, despite reducing his base price from INR 2 crore to 75 lakhs. Matters became worse for the youngster as he failed to bounce back in the domestic white-ball tournament, where he incurred two three-ball ducks in the first four matches for Mumbai.
Paranjape, in a column in Sportstar, listed three things that Shaw must focus on to earn back his reputation in cricket, as he believed that the 25-year-old still has time to script a turnaround in his career.
“Firstly, he needs to have an organised mind. Secondly, he needs to have an organised game against spin. Thirdly, he needs to have an organised approach to his fitness conditioning. Getting organised is pretty much the headline for the way he should be going about things. This is certainly a crossroads moment for him. It’s not a point of no return at all because he has age on his side. At 25, he still has time to make a comeback,” he wrote.
‘If Shaw can lose between 7 to 10 kilograms of body weight’
Paranjape clubbed Shaw alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson in naming the trio as the three best batters in Indian cricket at the moment, but said that the only factor that puts the Mumbai batter behind the latter two on the list is his fitness. The former Indian cricketer hence urged Shaw to shed at least 7 to 10 kilograms of weight to survive the uncertainty in Indian cricket.
“If I were Prithvi, I would quickly evaluate and conclude that fitness is a major missing piece in his game. Without it, his future in cricket is uncertain. I would stress this aspect: if he can lose between 7 to 10 kilograms of body weight without losing strength, that would be a crucial start. If I were in his position, I would camp in Chennai with Ramji Srinivasan for 10 days and completely dedicate the next two or three years to this transformation. The results would begin to show in the next 45 to 60 days,” he wrote.
The other aspect that Paranjape stressed was the need for Shaw to improve his batting against spinners, urging him to use his feet against the bowling variety.
“I have often told him that he seems overly generous with his wicket, particularly against spinners. Almost every domestic spinner in India has managed to get him out. He needs to reevaluate his game against spin. His game itself isn’t lacking — he can play shots on both sides of the wicket with ease. But by the time spin comes into play, his feet are tired, and that ties back to his fitness,” he explained.
Paranjape felt that if Shaw can shed the extra weight and improve his game against spinners, there would be no stopping as he exemplified his point using Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
“Having known him for a long time, I believe Prithvi loves batting. He needs to emulate legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, who, despite their immense success, continue playing for the sheer love of the game. Kohli, for example, is like a kid in a toy shop on the field. That passion is essential.”
