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The Prithvi Shaw Story - Shubman Gill's Proud Mate Can Only Blame Himself For Downfall

Rajgeeta Yadav

Prithvi Shaw [Source: @MrityunjayCE/X.com]Prithvi Shaw [Source: @MrityunjayCE/X.com]

By all measures, Indian cricket is not short on talent. It’s overflowing with young stars waiting to shine. Yet, every now and then, there emerges someone who doesn’t just shine and blazes through the sky like a comet. 

That’s exactly what Prithvi Shaw looked like when he first arrived at the scene. But today, the same boy who was once called the “next Sachin Tendulkar” finds himself standing on the edge of cricketing oblivion. The question is, who’s to blame?

It is hard to look at Shaw’s journey and not feel a sense of loss. However, at the same time, it is just as hard to ignore the fact that some of his wounds may be self-inflicted.

A Meteoric Rise: Born To Play, Destined To Lead

The first time Prithvi Shaw's name came into the mix of things when the little boy smashed 546 runs in a single school match. At 15, he wasn’t just breaking records; he was breaking into headlines, taking the world by storm. 

Three years later when he turned 18, Shaw was leading India’s Under-19 team to a World Cup win, rubbing shoulders with players like Shubman Gill and Arshdeep Singh, who were projected to be India's next big things in the years to come, although not as big as Shaw.

When Shaw scored a century on Test debut, it was pure magic. A child from humble beginnings making history, it was the kind of story that Indian cricket thrives on. At that moment, Shaw was not thought to be an ordinary cricketer. He was carrying hopes of the country and living up to them in order to follow Tendulkar's footsteps after rising to the top at such a young age.

However, the seeds for his downfall were sown during India's 2021 tour of Down Under, with the talismanic pace trio consistently exploiting his woes around the off stump. 

The Turning Point: Injuries, Suspension And Distractions

But every story of promise carries with it a risk, the risk of losing focus.

First came the injury on the tour of Australia, freakish, yes, but not career-defining. What followed was the real red flag: an eight-month suspension for ingesting a banned substance found in a cough syrup. Yes, it was deemed accidental. But in elite sport, ignorance is rarely an excuse.

From there on, things began to fall apart. Shaw returned to domestic cricket and the IPL, but consistency was missing. There were glimpses of brilliance, like his 479-run season for Delhi Capitals in 2021, but they were just that: ‘glimpses’.

More concerning were the reports that started surfacing about his lack of discipline, poor fitness, and his off-field lifestyle. And then, in 2024, the unthinkable happened, Mumbai dropped him from their Ranji Trophy squad. Not for form, but for uncountable disciplinary concerns.

A Talent That Went Unsold

In 2025, Delhi Capitals released him. Once worth every penny of ₹7.5 crore, Shaw found himself with a base price of ₹75 lakh in the IPL auction. Even then, no team showed interest, probably keeping in mind how the roadmap would sink him further down the drain.

Let that sink in, a player once hailed as India’s next poster boy, went completely unsold.

To add salt to the wound, Shaw's U19 teammate Shubman Gill is now India's current full-time Test captain. It does not feel right, does it? Two boys who were thought to rule the world from the same batch have now gone towards exactly different directions.

The message was loud and clear: potential alone doesn’t keep you in the race, especially not in Indian cricket, where competition is ruthless and unforgiving. You MUST maintain the discipline to keep you in the game, especially if you hail from the most populous country in the world that worships cricket like any God.

The Man Behind the Fall: A Harsh Truth

Here’s the bitter part. Yes, Shaw faced injuries. Yes, he was young and under pressure. But none of that excuses the lifestyle choices that seem to have cost him his career’s momentum. Cricket isn’t just about talent; it’s about discipline, work ethic, and mental strength. And Shaw, somewhere along the way, took his eyes off the game.

Even he now admits that bad company and distractions pulled him away. In a recent interview, he opened up about how only a handful of people stood by him, one of them being the great Sachin Tendulkar, who told him: “I still believe in you, and I’ll continue to do so.”

To have someone like Tendulkar back you is rare. But even Sachin can’t walk this path for him. That’s something Shaw must do himself.

The Time Is TICKING

At 25, Shaw isn’t finished, not yet. But he’s dangerously close to being forgotten. And if he doesn’t act now, this might just be the final chapter of a very short book.

The door isn’t completely shut. But it won’t stay open forever. If he wants to return, he’ll have to go through domestic cricket, fight for every run, prove his fitness, and, most importantly, stay focused. He’ll have to show not just fans, but himself, that the boy who once made headlines for greatness still lives inside the man trying to make a comeback. The hunger in him is still there.

Redemption Or Regret?

It’s tempting to place the blame on external circumstances, injuries, pressure, or the system. But in truth, Prithvi Shaw must shoulder a good part of the responsibility. He had the talent. He had the platform. What he lacked, at least for a time, was the maturity to protect what he had.

And now, the choice is his: redemption or regret? Because India doesn’t forget its prodigies easily. But it moves on from them even faster. You can still die as a hero rather than live long enough to see yourself become a villain of your own story.