Don’t have to change my game, just be a little smarter: Prithvi Shaw

India’s young batter Prithvi Shaw thinks that he does not have to change his game to get back into the Indian team but become a little smarter.
Shaw had a poor form in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season for the Delhi Capitals. Due to his bad performance, DC opted for other options in the midway of the season. In eight games that he played, he scored just 106 runs.
However, in the Duleep Trophy final, Shaw will look to improve his game and try to not repeat mistakes of the past. In the semi-final match of the Duleep Trophy, Shaw scored 26 and 25 in both innings respectively.
“If things are not going my way, obviously I’ll try and not play how I’m supposed to play in those conditions. Personally I feel, I don’t have to change my game. I have to just be a little smarter than what I am,” Shaw said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“I try to play with the bowlers, do some things that are going to distract them and make them bowl here and there, and give me the balls that I want and not what they want to bowl. These are the things I look forward to when conditions are like this,” he further added.
When asked about his performance in IPL 2023, he said, “Those few innings [at the start of IPL 2023] went in a flash, I kept thinking about the first match, I quickly realised three matches had passed. The learning was once the match is done, just leave it there. You can’t do anything about it, it’s history. You have to keep moving forward.”
In the 2022-23 domestic season, Shaw has scored 595 runs in ten innings, with an outstanding knock of 379 off 383 balls against Assam – the second-highest Ranji Trophy score of all time.
“Whichever game I play – Duleep Trophy, a Mumbai [club] game, whichever game – it’s important for me to bring my best. I’m the kind of person who always puts the team first. I feel that sometimes you just have to take a step back and then go forward again. Things will come your way if you do the right things at the right time,” he said.
The Mumbai batter last featured on Blue Jersey in July 2021 and was part of the squad of the T20I series against New Zealand in January this year.
In the recent squad announced for the West Indies tour, Shaw was overlooked and cricketers like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal were given the chance.
“When I came back for the T20s against New Zealand, I didn’t get a chance [to play] but this is what life is, sometimes you get chances, sometimes you don’t. You have to accept it. It’s not like I’ll be sitting down there and thinking ‘why, why’. I mean, I do ask myself that question but at the end of the day, if you go there and perform well, do your fitness routines, score well, you’ll be there. I just try and be as positive as I can,” he said on not being selected on the Indian side.
“I feel whatever has brought me till here, I will stick to that method, be the same. If I change right now for something, for example, I can’t bat like [Cheteshwar] Pujara sir. He can’t bat like me. I just try to do what has brought me here, everything god has given me, like this aggressive batting. I don’t like to change that, be it T20 or any format. The mindset is the same across formats, obviously I won’t go slashing if I shouldn’t in red-ball cricket, but mindset is to be aggressive,” Shaw added.
Shaw will play in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone, starting July 12.
“I’m expecting to be better than what I was last year. I just want to be a step ahead, be a better version of myself as a good batter, as an athlete and as a good person,” he said.