'People who don’t know me at all are commenting about me': Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw dispelled rumours about his conduct as a cricketer and stressed people need not speak about him behind his back and gather the courage to talk to him directly. The young explosive India and Mumbai opener has had murmurs doing the rounds of him being a repeated ethical offender. 

Shaw has no time for those, however, and says he likes to "ignore" the noise. The youngster just dominated his way to his maiden triple century and the second highest-ever individual score in the Ranji Trophy history. 

On a comeback trail, the aggressive right-hander blasted off 379 runs in the fourth-round league stage fixture against Assam for Mumbai. He is eyeing more such knocks under his kitty to reclaim a spot in the senior Indian set-up. 

Speaking to the Indian Express in an interview, Shaw was honest in his response to the naysaying that has come to exist around his off-field attitude, with accusations of him erring frequently against the line set by the team management and the selectors on the ethical front. 

Prithvi Shaw responds to off-field rumours 

"No one came and spoke to me directly," Shaw said on a query over comments made against him from the outside, including claims that he has failed to look after his fitness and let the fame get to his head. "Few people just wrote/commented on what they felt. I ignore it. I know that I’m doing my process."

"Many people who don’t know me at all are commenting about me. Sometimes I see those comments and just ignore them. I know what I have to do, those people writing on social media doesn’t matter to me. I just look at myself and try to improve as a player," he added. 

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"Sometimes I do get hurt once you are at peak and don’t get picked. Joh mere hath mein nahi hai uska dukh bana ke kya fyada.( What’s the use of being sad about something you can’t control). If God decides he will give me another opportunity, I will try to perform for India again. As I said there is no point in thinking too much, at the moment, I want to do well for Mumbai first."

Shaw revealed unlike the popular perception, the selectors have been in touch with him from time to time and have kept him in the loop about the entire process. 

"Yes they spoke to me and everything was fine. I was picked for the Indian team against New Zealand and they told me to perform well and I feel I did. They came and told me keep my fitness and keep working hard," he said.