When Prithvi Shaw won the Under-19 World Cup in 2018, the world was at his feet. Not that he won the world title, but because of the sheer talent he possessed. He was touted as the next big thing in cricket, with some of the cricket experts also comparing him with Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar. Everywhere Shaw went, every tournament the right-hand batter played, he was piling a mountain of runs.
True to the early promise, Shaw even had a dream international debut as he scored his maiden ton against the West Indies, and everyone thought the youngster would break one record after another. However, cut to 2025, and Shaw is not even a regular in the Mumbai team in domestic tournaments.
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As quickly as he rose to the top, he plummeted to the bottom at an even faster speed. Shaw's U-19 mates of the 2018 edition, the likes of Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh, and Riyan Parag, have gone much ahead of him and are some of the high-profile players in the IPL.
Prithvi Shaw told to avoid Vinod Kambli's fate
Shaw even went unsold in the IPL 2025 auction. The 25-year-old's decline is compared to Vinod Kambli, who, like Shaw, possessed enough talent but failed to make full use of it by not being disciplined enough with regard to his lifestyle.
"Somewhere between that World Cup and now, he just lost track. I don't know where, what. I don't claim to know him. But he just fell downhill. The body started showing signs – he is not as fit as he was. He made his debut before all three scored a century on debut. And the kind of talent that he was Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh, and Riyan Parag are looking at him saying 'Dekh yaar, kitna aage nikal gaya'," Famous cricket anchor and broadcaster Tanay Tiwari said on The Raj Shamani podcast.
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"It's very difficult to put a finger on it. What you can see is that the runs dropped, and the fitness dropped. Skill hasn't gone anywhere. That doesn't vanish like that. God gifted him with it, and he honed and nurtured it for years. Something happened in this interim. But it just started showing. Even within the camp, you heard reports that he is not attending fielding practice and not doing what the team demanded of it. But I really wish he comes back. He still has time. Get up, do it."
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Once, Kambli was rated even higher than Tendulkar, but the former's super start to an international career came crashing down after success went to his head. While Kambli could never make it to the Indian team after his massive downfall, Shaw, still only 25 years old, can make a comeback if he maintains the right attitude and discipline.
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