He is used to steal the headlines. He did so as a toddler with his stellar batting on Mumbai maidans for his school team. Then he graduated to age-group domestic cricket and continued to pile on the big scores with the willow in Mumbai's colours.
Days after he had turned 17, came the first-class call-up and ever since making his debut with a stylish century against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy semifinal, the short fellow from the suburbs continued in the same vein. Cut to Saturday, Manjot Kalra may have anchored India's famous chase in the Under-19 World Cup final but the teenager who lifted the trophy as India captain continued to be in the thick of the action.
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Many of the Mumbai cricket stalwarts who have seen the rise of Shaw from a child, who would spend two hours commuting from Virar — a remote suburb on the western edge of the metropolis — to having a hit at the nets at the MIG Club in Bandra hope that the Under-19 World Cup triumph is only a beginning of a new chapter in Shaw's book.
“I am happy for him. He has the knack of being in the spotlight due to his performances ever since he started scoring big in school cricket. Besides displaying his improvement as a batsman, I think the way he led the side was creditable,” said Pravin Amre, the former India cricketer and a Mumbai-based coach who has kept a close watch on Shaw's progress since his early days. “No doubt he had the luxury of having an exceptional coach in Rahul Dravid but to manage the team the way he did on the field reflected in the victories.”
Read: Ton-up Kalra powers India to fourth U-19 World Cup title
Amre, as the chief of Delhi Daredevils talent scouting wing, was instrumental in Shaw landing a hefty Indian Premier League contract.
Ajit Agarkar, the former India speedster who is now Mumbai's chief selector, feels Shaw has it in him to deal with all the attention. “He has been doing extremely well for us (Mumbai) and he is extremely confident in his abilities. Over the last year, he has definitely tightened up a bit as a batsman and has got bit smarter about his cricket,” said Agarkar.
Also read: Team always backed me under pressure, says Prithvi Shaw
Having joined the august league of Mohammed Kaif, Virat Kohli and Unmukt Chand as India Under-19 captains to have lifted the World Cup, Shaw would be hoping to emulate the feats of the current India captain who tasted success at this level exactly a decade back.
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