Prithvi Shaw is facing one setback after the other. The 25-year-old opening batter has now been axed from Mumbai’s squad and will not be featuring in at least the first three matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, set to begin on 21 December. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) named the 17-member squad for the first three matches on Tuesday, but Shaw has not been included.
The young batter was recently a part of Mumbai’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy-winning campaign. However, he had underwhelming returns with the bat. He scored just 197 runs in 9 matches and failed to deliver.
In the final against Madhya Pradesh in Bengaluru, Prithvi Shaw managed just 10 runs. Shaw recently also went unsold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Shaw has been grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons lately. In October 2024, he was first left out of Mumbai’s squad for the first phase of the Ranji Trophy. This decision was seen as a warning for the right-handed batter, who has a history of fitness and disciplinary concerns.
In 2024, Prithvi Shaw has managed just 59 runs in four Ranji Trophy innings. After Mumbai won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, captain Shreyas Iyer praised Shaw’s talent, but he underlined the need for introspection as well.
“I think, personally, he is a God-gifted player. The amount of talent he possesses as an individual, no one has it. That’s true. It’s just that he needs to improve his work ethics,” said Shreyas.
“And I have said it before as well in many of the interviews. He needs to get his work ethics right. And if he does that, you know, sky is the limit for him. Can you force him to? I can’t force him. He has played so much of cricket. And everyone has given him inputs. At the end of the day, it’s his job to go out there and figure out things for himself,” he added.
Shreyas to lead Mumbai in Vijay Hazare Trophy, Ajinkya Rahane takes break for personal reasons
Shreyas Iyer will continue to lead Mumbai and captain the side in the first three matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Ajinkya Rahane is not a part of the squad, as he has asked the MCA for a break due to personal reasons.
Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur are also a part of Mumbai’s squad for the upcoming 50-over domestic tournament.
Mumbai are placed in Group C of the Vijay Hazare Trophy alongside Nagaland, Hyderabad, Saurashtra, Punjab, Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh and Karnataka.
Mumbai will open their campaign against Karnataka on December 21 at the Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground in Ahmedabad.
Mumbai squad for the first three matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy: Shreyas Iyer (c), Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Jay Bista, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Siddhesh Lad, Hardik Tamore, Prasad Pawar, Atharva Ankolekar, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur, Royston Dias, Juned Khan, Harsh Tanna and Vinayak Bhoir.
