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Back To Form Prithvi Shaw Reveals Tendulkars Advice After Getting Dropped From Test

Back to form Prithvi Shaw reveals Tendulkar's advice after getting dropped from Test

The world came crashing down for Prithvi Shaw when he was dropped from the Indian Test team following twin failures in the first Test against Australia. His technique was ridiculed by cricket fans on social media and there was immense scrutiny of his technique which was ripped open by the Australian bowling attack.

The torrid tour of Australia seems to be a long way back now as Shaw has come raring back into form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy where he has plundered more than 750 runs with an astounding average of 188.5.

And now, Shaw has opened up on his feelings while going through a rough patch and the right-hander has said that he stood once in front of the mirror to remind himself of his qualities irrespective of what the press critics were making him look like.

“I was a bit confused, I was asking myself what was happening? Is there a problem with my batting? What is the problem? To pacify myself, I told myself it was a pink ball game against one of the finest bowling attacks in the world. The question was why was I getting bowled (Mitchell Starc in the first innings and Pat Cummins in the 2nd). I was down for sure. I stood in front of the mirror and said to myself ‘I am not as bad a player as everyone is saying I am’,” Shaw has said in an interview with The Indian Express.

Shaw also said that he endured sleepless nights after facing the axe from the team, and he kept on telling him that ‘hard work defeats talents’ and that it was the time to pull up socks to resurrect batting technique and form.

He also revealed the conversation he had with the batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, who suggested him to make a minor change in batting style and asked him to play the balls with the bat closer to his body.

“I met Sachin sir (Tendulkar) after I came back, he said don’t make too many changes and to just play as close to the body as I could. I was late on the ball. So during the entire Australia tour, I worked on that part. Maybe it was because I had gone to Australia after playing in Dubai (IPL),” Shaw said further in the interview.

The path of return to the Indian Test team looks tough for Shaw as of now, but the confidence after coming back among runs will be a welcome boost for the right-hander as India are set for a long haul of Test cricket in the season following IPL 2021.

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WI vs SL: Angelo Mathews to fly back home

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Mithali Raj creates history, becomes first Indian woman to score 10,000 International runs

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Virat Kohli backs KL Rahul over Dhawan as opener, rules out R Ashwin's comeback in WT20

The Indian team across formats are beaming with serious depths and the team management has a problem of plenty before their hands as a five-match T20I series is scheduled to start in Ahmedabad tomorrow. Out of all the spots of the playing XI up for debate, the name of the second opener has been widely speculated by media and cricket fans. However, in the views of the team management, KL Rahul is the certainty to partner Rohit Sharma at the top of the order and Kohli made no hiding of how both he and the team rate Rahul’s prowess with the bat. However, the experienced Shikhar Dhawan has not been completely overlooked yet, and his chances will come in due course of time, Kohli suggested in the pre-match press conference. “If Rohit plays, it’s simple. KL and Rohit have done well for us consistently. If either of them take rest, Shikhar is the third opener. Rohit and Rahul will start against England," Kohli said in the pre-match press conference. The ongoing series against England and India were to comprise a five-match Test series initially, but both ECB and BCCI came to the conclusion that playing a five-match T20Is would serve the purpose better for both sides with the World T20 scheduled at the end of the year. Kohli too realises the fact and outlined the importance of the upcoming series in context to the World Cup and said that the team is shaping up nicely in terms of balance leading up to the big tournament that India will be hosting. “These are the only five games we have as a team before the World Cup and we want to see how these guys fare in the middle. I feel the squad right now we have barring Jaddu, who will come back whenever fit, is the most balanced in terms of the options available to take the field as and when required,” Kohli added. The Indian top-order which has comprised Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, and KL Rahul at different points of times in the recent past has attracted severe criticism for batting with a measured approach and eating up too many balls. Kohli did not hide away from this issue and said that the team will look to address that aspect of the game, and now that that the team has added some players who will bring their X-factors with them, the team can set a template of playing an aggressive brand of cricket, instead of looking to spend time at the crease from this series onwards. “We have played with a certain kind of pattern in the past. We did not have a big tournament to work towards in the past. If you look at the squad, the additions we have made we have tried to address a few things we needed in specific,” Kohli said. "We want to play free cricket, we have explosive batsmen in the team now. That's exactly what we are trying to address. This time around you will see players bat more freely. I see us being much more free with our approach from this series onwards. Considering the World T20 will be played on Indian pitches, the cricketing world, along with the touring England team has put the onus on the hosts and labelled them the favourites to win the cup for the second time after their triumph in the inaugural edition in 2007. However, Kohli recognises England as the firm favourites to win the trophy for their second time as well after 2010. He said that the England team under the leadership of Eoin Morgan has leapfrogged other teams in terms of firepower and strengths and the world will have a close look at the Englishmen in the World Cup. "I think it's England who will be the team to beat. They are the number one side in the world and the prime focus will be on them in this World Cup. All the other teams will be wary of the strengths that they bring onto the park and every other team would agree with what I say. It's England who are the favourites and that will not change regardless of how they think," Kohli added. After winning Man of the Match in the second Test of the series against England, Ravichandran Ashwin had said that he was not dreaming to play for India in the limited-overs cricket, instead, he was realistic and eager to play in the play for India again in the blue jersey. Kohli was asked about Ashwin’s contention for the T20 world cup, but the Indian skipper outrightly ruled out the return of the veteran off-spinner who has just won the Man of the Series award in the Test series against England. Kohli said that the Washington Sundar has done really well as an off-spinner in the limited opportunities he has got and that the team is not looking forward to playing two bowlers of the same kind in the shortest format. He said that the way back for Ashwin in the World T20 would come only at the expense of Washington who is unlikely to be replaced in the foreseeable future, and hence the question lacked logic in the absence of a place for Ashwin in the playing XI. "Washington has been doing really well for us. So you cannot have two players of the same discipline, playing in one spot. So unless Washy has a drastically horrible season and things go south for him. I mean the question has to be asked with some kind of logic as well. You suggest where you would add Ash, and play him in the team? Washington already does that job for the team. It's easy to ask a question but you should have a logical explanation to it yourself," said Kohli. The five-match T20 series between India and England will commence at the Narendra Modi Stadium tomorrow and the jury is out for Virat Kohli’s captaincy in the shortest format as the absence of any major ICC trophy in his cabinet will start to feel as the World T20 is looming large on the world cricket.