Prithvi Shaw made his debut in the Rajkot Test match against West Indies on Thursday.
Prithvi Shaw has become India's latest batting superstar with a dream debut against West Indies on Thursday at Rajkot. He became the youngest Indian to make a century on Test debut. He is the 15th Indian batsman to score a hundred on his debut in Test cricket.
Shaw was called up to the India squad for the final Test of this summer’s series against England, an indication, not only of the esteem he is held in but also the struggles of India’s top order against the likes of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad.
The call didn’t come at the Oval. When it finally came on Thursday, Shaw didn’t disappoint reaching his century off just 99 balls.
The 18-year-old Shaw has been earmarked for great things ever since he was a prodigious run-maker in the Mumbai maidans. He captained India in the Under-19 World Cup, and began his first-class career with a hundred in the fourth innings of the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy last year.
He has played only 14 first-class games, but that has been enough for the selectors to recognise he is ready for Test cricket. He has scored 1418 runs at an average of 56.72. And he has done so in a dominant fashion, going at a strike rate of 76.69.
Here's all you need to know about Prithvi Shaw.
1. Prithvi Shaw: Player No. 293 for India
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Prithvi Shaw became the 293th player to play test cricket for India on Thursday. Shaw, who was born on 9 November 1999, also became the 13th youngest player to play Test cricket for India. (Image: DNA File Photo)
2. Prithvi Shaw: Humble beginnings
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Prithvi Shaw comes from Virar, a small town in Palghar district near Mumbai. Shaw was a four-year-old when he lost his mother and was raised by his father. As a child, he would travel all the way from Virar to Churchgate, a journey which took nearly two hours, for his daily cricketing net sessions. (Image: PTI)
3. Prithvi Shaw: Talent spotted
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In 2010, former left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni spotted Prithvi Shaw. His sports management company snapped the 11-year-old for an annual stipend of Rs 3 lakh. He also got help from a local corporator who offered Shaw and his father his family flat in Santa Cruz to cut his travel time for practice. (Image: PTI)
4. Prithvi Shaw: Rise to fame
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Prithvi Shaw made headlines in 2013 when, as a 14 year old, he scored a world record 546 off 300 balls for the Rizvi Springfield school in the Under-16 schools tournament in Mumbai. The record was overtaken by Pranav Dhanawade in 2016. It is presently the fourth-highest score by any batsman in any form of the organised game. (Image: DNA)
5. Prithvi Shaw: First class debut
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In 2017, Shaw made his first-class debut for Mumbai in the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy, scoring a century (120) in the second innings versus Tamil Nadu and winning a match of the match honour. He went to score 5 centuries in his first 9 first-class matches. (Image: Twitter @cricketworldcup)
6. Prithvi Shaw: The Next Sachin Tendulkar?
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Prithvi Shaw has always been compared with Sachin Tendulkar since his rise in domestic cricket. After scoring a century in his Duleep Trophy debut, Shaw matched Tendulkar’s record of scoring centuries in Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy debut. He also broke the Master Blaster’s record of becoming the youngest player to score a century in the Duleep Trophy. (Image: DNA)
7. Prithvi Shaw: Stinct in England
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In 2012, Prithvi was invited to England to play for the Cheadle Hulme school in Manchester; he scored a century on debut and ended up with 1,446 runs during his two-month stay. He was then was offered training at the Julian Wood Cricket Academy in England and played for Cleethorpes in the Yorkshire ECB County Premier League. (Image: DNA)
8. Prithvi Shaw: World Cup Winner
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Prithvi Shaw captained the Indian U-19 side to World Cup glory earlier this year. With 261 runs in the tournament at an average of 65.25, Shaw became the highest scoring Indian captain at this level surpassing the likes of Unmukt Chand, Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel. (Image: Twitter @BCCI)
9. Prithvi Shaw: IPL star
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Prithvi Shaw was bought for an amount of Rs 1.2 Crore by Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2018 auction. In nine games, he scored 245 runs at an average of 27.22 with a strike-rate of 153.12. He also became the youngest player to open in IPL and the joint youngest with Sanju Samson to hit an IPL half century. (Image: Twitter @ICC)
10. Prithvi Shaw: Impressive show with India A
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Prithvi Shaw has already scored four centuries for the India 'A' side - 102 against the West Indies 'A', 132 against Leicestershire, 136 against South Africa 'A' and 188 against the West Indies 'A'.
