'It was torture' - Prithvi Shaw opens up about his time during 8-month doping ban

Prithvi Shaw, the 20-year-old young opener had to go through some tough time in 2019. It took him longer than expected to break into the international scene. Injuries and a ban turned out to be the biggest setback for the youngster in the concluded year. And Shaw has opened up talking about the difficult period when he was handed with a ban of eight months from playing competitive cricket.

The 20-year-old got off to a dream debut as he played a fine knock of 134 runs in his maiden Test against West Indies. In the very next game, he against scored magnificent fifty with his willow. Everything was going well for the youngster before he suffered a couple of injuries before getting banned for a doping violation.

Shaw had mistakenly taken a prohibited substance that is usually found in cough syrups. During Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019, he was found positive of found positive in a doping test due to which he had to face the repercussions.

‘It shouldn’t happen to anyone’: Prithvi Shaw

In an exclusive interview, Prithvi Shaw said that it was a big lesson for him as a youngster. This is a big example for all the upcoming young cricketers that they should take medicine after getting approval from the doctors. It will be better to have some knowledge about the banned substance and take all the precautions to keep your career away from getting into a big mess.

According to Shaw, he took cough syrup that consists of a banned substance but he was not aware of the same. However, now he learnt what not to do going into the future as a cricketer. Now, he gets his every basic medicine approved by BCCI doctors. In the end, he concluded saying that it was a torturous time from him and wished that nobody should ever go through the same.

“You have to be careful about what you consume. Even a simple drug like paracetamol. This is for all the young cricketers out there who aren’t aware of these things. Even if you take a small medicine, you must get it approved with your doctor or the BCCI doctors. It’s better to ask the doctors about the banned substances and take necessary precautions so that you don’t get into trouble.

“Like in my case, I had a cough syrup which I didn’t know was a banned substance. I have learnt a lesson from this and will not repeat it. Even if I am having a basic medicine, I run that through the BCCI doctors to ensure that there are no banned substances in it. Time away from cricket was a difficult period for me. It was torture. It should not happen to anyone,” Prithvi Shaw said as quoted by Times of India.