The right-handed batter went unsold in the IPL 2025 auction.
For a boy who scored 546 runs in a prestigious school tournament in Mumbai, his cricketing story would be etched in the stars. Such was the case for young Prithvi Shaw in 2013. The youngster burst onto the scene, with a score which was the highest in India’s school cricket history. Once hailed as a prodigy, Shaw was being compared to the great Sachin Tendulkar.
The youngster also led India’s U19 side to the title in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup in 2018. The dream seemed to go in the right direction, and Shaw was destined for greatness. But destiny had other plans. Suddenly, the flamboyant shots went out of the book and the confidence in his walk changed. It was as if someone woke him up from a dream.
The 25-year-old is all set to play for Maharashtra in the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. Currently playing a practice match against his former side Mumbai, Shaw has smashed a century, and will be looking forward to starting the season on a high. Here’s the timeline of what Prithvi Shaw’s career trajectory looked like.
After the youngster lifted the U19 World cup in 2018, he was soon bought by the Delhi Capitals (DC) for a whopping sum of 1.2 Crore. To add to that, Shaw also went on to represent India in whites at home, against West Indies. Not just that, he scored a century on debut, which was an announcement to the cricketing world. ‘I’m here, deal with it’ – his performances shouted.
However, during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2019, Prithvi Shaw’s career took an impactful turn. The youngster from Mumbai tested positive for Terbutaline, which is a banned substance under the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). The drug is usually used in cough syrups, and Shaw had to stay away from the game for a period of eight months.
After making his way back to competitive cricket, the India U19 World cup winner had quite some run. After an impressive Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2019. To add to that, he performed brilliantly in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2021, ending the season as the seventh-highest run-scorer in the tournament. He scored 479 runs in 15 games with four fifties to his name.
And this is where problems started to creep in. The consistency went down, the dips in form were very visible and fitness starting becoming a concern. The next two years were pretty average for a player of the calibre of Prithvi Shaw, who was once destined for impeccable stardom. As a result, he was released by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the mega-auction in 2024. Despite lowering his base price, no franchise showed interest in the youngster.
The struggles with low scores and discipline issues continued till early 2025. A few months ago, Prithvi Shaw claimed that his cricketing path went wayward as he started giving less time to the game. Moreover, he stated his move from Mumbai to Maharashtra in order to start afresh.
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The aggressive opening batter has created a good impact after he has joined forces with the Maharashtra side. His ability to go hard at the bowling since ball one is what makes him a very dangerous prospect in domestic cricket. Though his footwork is not always at its best, the hand-eye co-ordination puts him in great positions to score big runs.
This year, Prithvi Shaw has not registered an official hundred. But, this does not mean his form has taken a dip. Though his tons aren’t on record, the youngster has got two sumptuous hundreds. The first one came in the Buchi Babu Memorial Tournament, in a game against Chandigarh. In his debut innings for Maharashtra, Shaw scored 111 runs to start on a high.
However, his second ton came in a practice match against his former side Mumbai. Prithvi Shaw and Arshin Kulkarni opened the innings for Maharashtra, and they got off to superb starts. The openers stitched a 305-run stand for the opening wicket. Shaw ended with a score in excess of 180, to delivery some promise ahead to the Maharashtra management ahead of the start of the new Ranji Trophy season.
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