How Virat Kohli succeeded in England, reveals Prithvi Shaw

Teenage sensation Prithvi Shaw came very near to making his Test debut in England recently after he got a national call to replace a struggling Murali Vijay in the squad, but he did not eventually make it. However, the 18-year-old talent’s experience in sharing the dressing room with some of the big names of Indian cricket, including captain Virat Kohli, during the last two Tests has been valuable.

The Mumbai batsman who averages almost 57 in first-class cricket and could well be making his Test debut against the Windies at home next month recently spoke up on how Kohli succeeded in scoring runs in the recent England series. Though there was no change in India’s fortunes in the series, Kohli buried the ghost of the 2014 series by scoring 593 runs in 10 innings this time.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Shaw said: “Batting ke time, England me swing hota hai. So the opposition played with lot of mind. They knew where to bowl and how to bowl to each batsman. I asked Kohli how he managed to score all those runs. He told me that he always puts the team before him. Woh hunger apne aap aa jata hai.”
Shaw, who announced to the world his arrival with a 546 in minor cricket in 2013, is expected to make his debut at home against the Carribeans replacing opener Shikhar Dhawan who has struggled in the longer format.

Shaw had an ordinary outing in warm-up game against West Indies

Shaw, however, did not have a good opening innings in the two-day warm-up game for the Board President’s XI against the Windies which started in Vadodara on Saturday. He fell to quick Shannon Gabriel for just eight, an innings that included two boundaries.

His opening partner Mayank Agarwal, however, continued with his good form to hit 90 while Ankit Bawne scored an unbeaten 116 as the Indian side ended Day 1 at 360 for 6 declared. The first Test begins in Rajkot on October 4.

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