'Give him as many opportunities as possible, he's an enormous talent' - WV Raman backs Prithvi Shaw to open against Sri Lanka

Former Indian women’s team head coach WV Raman has opined that India should have Prithvi Shaw opening the innings with stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan in the upcoming limited-overs series in Sri Lanka. India has carried a 20-member squad for the tour of Sri Lanka, which is all set to begin on July 18 in Colombo.

Ahead of the first ODI, there is a bit of talk around the opening slots for this series. The Indian team has taken a few openers on this tour. Of course, there is Dhawan and Shaw, who shared a successful opening combination for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2021. Apart from them, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal serve up as really good alternative options. Among them, Raman felt it will be a good decision to back the combination of Shaw-Dhawan. 

“I think you would probably have Shikhar (Dhawan) opening obviously because one is that is the captain and two is that you would probably think of having Prithvi Shaw, he has played for the country, he has done well,” Raman told PTI in an interview on Friday. Shaw has played in three ODIs so far for India, all of which came during their tour of New Zealand in the early part of 2020.

You need to Prithvi Shaw as many opportunities as possible: WV Raman 

The young Mumbai batter has scored 84 runs in three ODI innings so far. Additionally, he has played five Tests for India as well, scoring 339 runs at an average of 42.38. Shaw was dropped after the first Test against Australia last year. Since then he has turned around his form and came back strongly by performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and IPL 2021. 

“You need to try and give him as much (many) opportunities as possible for him to get back into form because he is young and got enormous talent,” said Raman. Despite the presence of players like Padikkal and Gaikwad, the team management is likely to lean towards Shaw. The young batter was the highest run-getter in the Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this year.  

Raman further praised Padikkal, but also made the point that Shaw is slightly more experienced and might get a preference on that basis. “Yes, you do have immensely talented (Devdutt) Padikkal and the rest, but having being there before and done it, I think Prithvi Shaw would probably get the first draw from the others because that is how it always happens,” explained Raman.