NEW DELHI: Former Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has acknowledged his decision to move on from Prithvi Shaw, attributing it to Shaw’s consistent inability to meet team expectations.
Prithvi Shaw, who emerged as a promising talent in Indian cricket, made an impressive entry into international cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL). Shaw debuted for India in 2018 at the age of 18, marking his arrival with a century.
He went on to play his first One Day International (ODI) in 2020 and his first Twenty20 International (T20I) in 2021. Despite a promising start, Shaw struggled to maintain his form, with his last appearance for India dating back to July 2021.
During the IPL 2024 season, Shaw found himself out of the Delhi Capitals’ playing eleven. Ponting recently expressed his views on Shaw’s situation.
“I mean to start with I don’t like talking about individual players, but Prithvi shouldn’t be an outlier. He should be someone that’s in every team; the first pick in most teams with the skill that he’s got. He’s had a chance to represent India as a youngster, making a hundred on his Test debut,” Ponting told Cricbuzz.
“And as you say, halfway through this year, we couldn’t find a slot for him in our DC team. So that’s disappointing for me as a coach not to be able to make certain players better and get the best out of them. But sometimes there’s only so much you can give and so many times you can try,” he added.
Ponting revealed that he had multiple discussions with Shaw in an effort to improve his cricketing skills. Despite these efforts, he acknowledged a limit to the impact a coach can have, saying, “When you feel like you’re not making players better and they’re not doing what you need for the team, then you’ve got to look for other players that can do it for you. So that then comes back to the player. With him in particular I’ve had a lot of chats with him, a lot of conversations to try and make him a better cricketer.”
“I mean, he’s still a young man. And he’s still a very talented young player. And hopefully one day the penny really drops for him and he works out what he needs to do to be the best cricketer that he can be,” the former Australia captain explained.
As the Delhi Capitals begin preparations for the IPL 2025 season, speculation about Shaw’s future with the team has arisen. It remains to be seen whether Shaw will be retained by the team, considering the strategic planning underway ahead of the mega auction.
Prithvi Shaw, who emerged as a promising talent in Indian cricket, made an impressive entry into international cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL). Shaw debuted for India in 2018 at the age of 18, marking his arrival with a century.
He went on to play his first One Day International (ODI) in 2020 and his first Twenty20 International (T20I) in 2021. Despite a promising start, Shaw struggled to maintain his form, with his last appearance for India dating back to July 2021.
During the IPL 2024 season, Shaw found himself out of the Delhi Capitals’ playing eleven. Ponting recently expressed his views on Shaw’s situation.
“I mean to start with I don’t like talking about individual players, but Prithvi shouldn’t be an outlier. He should be someone that’s in every team; the first pick in most teams with the skill that he’s got. He’s had a chance to represent India as a youngster, making a hundred on his Test debut,” Ponting told Cricbuzz.
“And as you say, halfway through this year, we couldn’t find a slot for him in our DC team. So that’s disappointing for me as a coach not to be able to make certain players better and get the best out of them. But sometimes there’s only so much you can give and so many times you can try,” he added.
Ponting revealed that he had multiple discussions with Shaw in an effort to improve his cricketing skills. Despite these efforts, he acknowledged a limit to the impact a coach can have, saying, “When you feel like you’re not making players better and they’re not doing what you need for the team, then you’ve got to look for other players that can do it for you. So that then comes back to the player. With him in particular I’ve had a lot of chats with him, a lot of conversations to try and make him a better cricketer.”
“I mean, he’s still a young man. And he’s still a very talented young player. And hopefully one day the penny really drops for him and he works out what he needs to do to be the best cricketer that he can be,” the former Australia captain explained.
As the Delhi Capitals begin preparations for the IPL 2025 season, speculation about Shaw’s future with the team has arisen. It remains to be seen whether Shaw will be retained by the team, considering the strategic planning underway ahead of the mega auction.
