Selectors Dismiss Seniors' Complaints About Prithvi Shaw's Late Night Hotel Arrival

The spectacle surrounding Prithvi Shaw's career persists, with his absence from Mumbai's squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy marking another decline in the value of a once highly-touted batsman who was seen as a future star for India.

Despite 50-over cricket being his strongest format, as the opener indicated in a belligerent Instagram post detailing his numbers and success in that format, Mumbai have chosen to look elsewhere as issues with Shaw’s fitness and discipline continue to outweigh his raw talent and production on the field.

Things came to a head as he managed to lose support within the Mumbai Cricket Association, with an official from the MCA spoke to PTI under conditions of anonymity to dive further into why the batter was overlooked for the Vijay Hazare tournament beginning this month.

"I'll tell you one thing. No one is Shaw's enemy. He is his own enemy," explained the source to PTI in a stark condemnation of Shaw’s recent downturn in form.

"In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, we were playing with 10 fielders as we were forced to hide Prithvi Shaw. The ball would pass near him and he would barely be able to get to it," said the source, indicating how Shaw’s concerns in the field were a big part of why he was not included, even if his batting has seen him be a regular starter in recent matches in the Mumbai’s triumphant Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Ranji Trophy campaigns.

However, the batting is also a concern, with Shaw only scoring 197 runs in 7 games in the SMAT, not meeting the standards required of an opener. despite a couple of crucial knocks. "Even while batting, we could see he was troubled reaching to the ball. His fitness, discipline and attitude are poor and it is pretty simple, there cannot be different rules for different players.”

‘Even the seniors in the team…’

Shreyas Iyer, who leads Mumbai in the limited overs competitions, had spoken about how Shaw was reaching the end of his rope and needed to knuckle down following the win at the SMAT. However, Shaw being dropped is a big blow for the batter, despite his average of 55 in List A cricket.

During the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Shaw missed training sessions regularly after showing up at the team hotel at "six in the morning" being out for most of the night.

"Even the seniors in the team have started complaining about his attitude now. You would be wrong to think such posts on social media would have any impact on the Mumbai selectors and the MCA," concluded the source, also indicating how the team wouldn’t have been impressed by Shaw’s outburst on the matter on Instagram.

Mumbai’s Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign begins with a headline clash against Karnataka on Saturday, set to be played at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel B Ground in Ahmedabad.

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