Dubai: The Class of 2018, which won the Under-19 World Cup for India in New Zealand, has been the toast of IPL 2020 so far - be it Shubman Gill, fast bowling tyros Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkotti or their skipper Prithvi Shaw. Coming out of a nightmarish 2019, which saw the precocious opener grappling with injury as well as a doping ban, Shaw now seems determined to play himself back into recoking for a national selection.
The doping violation came as a rude jolt as Shaw, according to the BCCI, had “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance (Terbutaline) which can be commonly found in cough syrups”, leading to the ban. It cost him to miss out on the action for a substantial part of the year but then, at 20, Shaw certainly has time on his side.
In the going edition of IPL in the UAE, Shaw has been instrumental in giving Delhi Capitals those bright starts during the Powerplay overs, having scored 179 from five innings so far to be among the top five batsmen in race for the Orange Cap with two fiftes. He could have got a third one on Monday when he fell for 42 against Royal Challengers Banagalore but is not unduly fussed about it.
Everything is going perfect, you know, the batting, bowling - skills-wise we are going in the right direction, so really happy for the team
“I think I would have carried on after the powerplay, but unfortunately I lofted it. However, it’s just a game and I think this has become history now, so I’ll leave this over here itself and concentrate on the next game,” said Shaw after the match.
The attacking batsman raced to a solid 68-run opening partnership with the experienced Shikhar Dhawan which helped the team post a competitive 196 for four against RCB, which proved one too many for the opposition. “I think this is the momentum we have to carry throughout this tournament and this is the start we all wanted, especially in the powerplay, without giving any wicket away. In the first six overs, we scored 63, I think, which is a good start and then we give advantage to the middle and lower order batsmen - Shreyas, Pant, Stoinis and Hetmyer, who can come in and play their natural game,” said Shaw.
Commenting on his team’s bowling performance against Bangalore, Shaw said: “I feel the bowlers are doing a wonderful job, both the fast bowlers, and today, Axar, Ash bhai (Ravichandran Ashwin) and Harshal did great too. They are well-prepared before the game and know exactly what they want to do in the match, and they are doing a wonderful job.”
Speaking on the overall team performance, he feels everything is going according to plan. “I think it’s a very good start, a very positive start to this tournament and we have to carry this momentum. We just have to go out there and execute our plans, whatever we do in practice sessions, we just have to execute ourselves in the match and rightly, we are doing perfectly. Everything is going perfect, you know, the batting, bowling - skills-wise we are going in the right direction, so really happy for the team,” he added.
