‘There's only so much you can give’ - Ricky Ponting reflects on opportunities given to Prithvi Shaw

Former Australia batter and head coach of Delhi Capitals in the IPL, Ricky Ponting, recently came forward to talk about the career of India batter Prithvi Shaw. The 24-year-old burst onto the scene as a teenager and even performed well in the early stages of his career. However, his career has taken a steep turn downhill ever since. 

Having spent three years with the 24-year-old as the head coach of Delhi Capitals, Ricky Ponting feels that Prithvi Shaw has been unable to make the most of his talent. He opined that Shaw is a player who can get into any side in world cricket, but his performances recently have not justified a spot in the squad.

“I mean to start with I don't like talking about individual players, but Prithvi shouldn't be an outlier. He should be someone that's in every team; the first pick in most teams with the skill that he's got. He's had a chance to represent India as a youngster, making a hundred on his Test debut,” Ponting told Cricbuzz.

“And as you say, halfway through this year, we couldn't find a slot for him in our DC team. So that's disappointing for me as a coach not to be able to make certain players better and get the best out of them. But sometimes there's only so much you can give and so many times you can try,” Ponting added.

It is worth noting that Shaw has had two decent seasons with Delhi Capitals in the IPL, scoring 353 runs in 2019 and 479 in 2021. However, 2024 and 2023 have been horrid for the youngster. Where he has only scored 304 runs in 16 matches in the two seasons.

The Indian team seems to have moved on from Shaw as well, he last played an international game in 2021, and with a comeback looking seemingly impossible, Ponting hoped that Shaw could find his way in cricket once more.