Prithvi Shaw should be India's first choice opener for Australia tour: Dilip Vengsarkar

Former India cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar feels debutant Prithvi Shaw should be India’s first-choice opener for the Test series against Australia. Shaw made his international and Test debut on Thursday and announced himself in style by scoring a 99-ball hundred against the Windies on Day 1 of the first Test in Rajkot. The 18-year old was eventually dismissed for 134, a knock which included as many as 19 fours.

Prithvi Shaw made the headlines as a 14-year old boy when he smashed a record individual score of 546 for his school Rizvi Springfield in the Harris Shield. Within a few years, Shaw made his Ranji debut for Mumbai and earlier this year led the India U19 team to a World Cup victory in New Zealand. The youngster even earned a national call-up for the final two Tests against England, but had to wait for the Windies series to receive his maiden Test cap.

Quite expectantly, Dilip Vengsarkar was all praises for the youngster. “As an 18-year-old he has no baggage to carry. He has shown tremendous potential and is matured way beyond his years,” he was quoted as saying in Hindustan Times. Vengsarkar was, in fact, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) vice-president when Prithvi broke into the Mumbai Ranji side last year.

Vengsarkar calls for selectors to show faith in Shaw’s ability

After his ton against the Windies, Vengsarkar feels that Shaw should be India’s first-choice opener when India tour Australia later this year and has urged the selection committee to show “faith in his ability”.

Meanwhile, Milind Rege, who earlier headed the Mumbai selection committee, said, “What impressed me the most was that he wasn’t afraid to play shots. He was different from the others. I consulted Rahul Dravid at length about his opinion on Prithvi. He told me to take a chance as he has all the requisites.”

Chandrakant Pandit was the coach when Prithvi Shaw made his Mumbai debut, who said he was happy with the fact that the youngster didn’t change his approach. “What I liked about him was the way he was batting today. He used to bat in similar fashion when he was 12-13-year-old when I was the Director of the MCA Academy. Some players change their approach when they play at a higher level but Prithvi has maintained the same.”

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