Former Indian batsman Ajay Jadeja believes a virus has been removed from Prithvi Shaw’ batting as the batter is now back in form.
Shaw was dropped from the Indian Test XI after his poor return in the first Test match against Australia in the pink-ball game. There was hardly any foot movement from Shaw and he looked vulnerable against the potent bowling attack of Australia.
Shaw then worked hard on his game and delivered big in the Vijay Hazare trophy. Shaw ended up scoring 827 runs in the eight matches of the Vijay Hazare trophy, including four hundred, out of which three were the big ones. The right-hander scored his runs at an impeccable average of 165.40 and a blistering strike rate of 138.29.
Furthermore, Shaw also broke Mayank Agarwal’s record of scoring most runs in the Vijay Hazare trophy as the latter had scored 723 runs in the 2018 edition.
Shaw has continued his good form in the IPL as he scored 72 runs off just 38 balls in the first match of the season against CSK. The talented batsman was at his destructive best against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad as he smashed 82 runs from 41 balls.
Shaw scored 308 runs in eight matches in the first phase of IPL 2021 before the tournament was postponed indefinitely. The right-hander batted aggressively as he took the attack to the opposition from the get-go.
“Like a computer has a virus, it’s like a virus has been removed from his batting. Last year, a little virus had crept in his mind or technique, whichever way you want to put it. But when a player emerges from a shock – Shaw is an exceptional player – but even an ordinary player at any level finds it easy in his first year, but when the second year comes – if he can surpass it, he can leave everyone behind,” Jadeja told Cricbuzz.
In fact, Shaw could only manage 228 runs in 14 matches in IPL 2020 but he was able to turn the table in the 14th season and played a key role in the success of his team.
