A few months ago, Prithvi Shaw had posted a message on his Instagram handle: “Hope Sai Baba is watching you all.” He was hoping for divine intervention after facing a difficult situation. He was judged by people who didn’t even know him and friends who were with him in good times were not there when he needed them the most. “I think the post was only about whether he (Sai Baba) is watching or not,” Prithvi told PTI after scoring 379 off 383 balls in a Ranji Trophy match in Guwahati. It was not for anyone. It was a personal matter.
In nearly nine decades of Indian first-class cricket history, Prithvi made the second highest individual score after Bhausaheb Nimbalkar’s 443 for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in Pune in 1948–49. The Under-19 World Cup-winning Indian captain said, “Sometimes you get frustrated. You know you are doing your things right. You know you’re sticking to your processes, you’re honest with yourself, you’re disciplined with your career on and off the field. But sometimes people talk differently. People who don’t even know you judge you.
Success makes a person wiser but tough times make you mature a little too soon. This is what happened to this 23-year-old who now knows and can identify who his well-wishers are. He said, “I don’t really care about the people who were not with me when I was not doing well. I just prefer to ignore them. It is the best policy.” Prithvi is the second male cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar to score a Test century as a teenager.
Trolls or adverse comments on social media also do not bother Prithvi anymore. Prithvi should have got a chance to return to the national team but with Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Shubman Gill and Abhimanyu Easwaran ahead of him in the Test team, it is not known when he will get a chance. He said, “I am not even thinking whether someone will call me in the Indian team or not. I’m just trying to get my things right as best I can and not thinking ahead. I am a person who likes to live one day at a time. I have to make my today right. I am playing for Mumbai and the target is to win the Ranji Trophy.
400 is not an everyday score in first-class cricket but he could have crossed the 400-run mark had he not been given out lbw off Riyan Parag. Prithvi said, “It feels really good. I could have scored 400 runs. I felt I was batting really well but it was just a matter of time as the big runs were not coming. I thought I should have spent more time at the crease. Showed patience and it was needed on this wicket.
