'It wasn't my fault' - Prithvi Shaw recalls conversation with Rahul Dravid after getting banned for doping violation

Although these are still early days in Prithvi Shaw’s international career, the young opener has already seen several ups and downs. The dasher made a lot of noise with his stellar performance in junior cricket and even led India to the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. Months after the global event, Shaw received his made international cap and mustered a match-winning century against West Indies on Test debut.

Just when Shaw seemed to have cemented his place in the national team, his glory days halted for a while. In 2019, the young dasher was found guilty of doping violation. The right-handed batsman had consumed a cough syrup without knowing that it is a banned substance. He subsequently faced an eight-month ban and needless to mention, that period was tough for Shaw.

When Rahul Dravid motivated Shaw

In a recent interaction, Shaw revealed that Rahul Dravid, who was India’s coach during the 2018 U-19 World Cup, had motivated him to come back stronger after the ban. “When I got banned for doping, he called and said, “This is part of life. It’s ok. It wasn’t my fault and I will come back stronger.” It felt really nice that he talked to me even during my bad phase,” Shaw told Indian Express.

Meanwhile, Shaw’s ban ended in November 2019 and the youngster didn’t take long in making a mark. His stellar show in the domestic circuit earned him a comeback in the national team for the New Zealand tour in early 2020.

As of now, the 21-year-old is gearing up India’s white-ball series against Sri Lanka which gets underway on July 13. With the tour comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is, Shaw has a great chance to play some impressive knocks and stake a claim in India’s first-choice XI across formats. Notably, the interim Team India coach for this tour is none other than Rahul Dravid.

Hence, it would be interesting to see if the Shaw-Dravid combination can again take India to glory or not. The youngster is all but likely to get a place in the starting XI as he has been in red-hot form lately. However, tackling the Lankan bowlers in their own den might not be that easy.