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Dinesh Lad, childhood coach of India’s ODI captain Rohit Sharma, has said that Prithvi Shaw’s decline in professional cricket is unfortunate. Lad, who has closely watched Shaw’s journey since he was just a 10-year-old child, expressed his disappointment over the 25-year-old’s dipping career graph. According to him, Shaw was a naturally gifted player, but poor decisions off the field have derailed what could have been a remarkable cricketing career.
“I have seen Prithvi since his childhood, from the time he was 10 years old. He was a highly talented player. But as I have said, everyone’s journey is individual, and I don’t know what exactly happened with him. Still, Prithvi Shaw was a very talented cricketer. Unfortunately, he went down the wrong path and ended up spoiling his cricket," Dinesh Lad said on a podcast with Gaurav Mangalani.
Shaw's fall from grace
Once considered as the “Next Big Thing" in Indian cricket, Shaw burst onto the international scene with a century on Test debut, leaving fans, pundits and former cricketers impressed.
After Shaw became the youngest Indian to score a century on debut, the then-head coach Ravi Shastri said: “There’s a bit of Sachin, a bit of Viru, and when he walks, there’s a bit of Lara as well.”
Shaw quickly became a sensation in the early years of his IPL career due to his aggressive strokeplay. However, in recent seasons, his form dipped, which led to him going unsold in the 2025 mega auction.
Shaw's teammates rise in Indian cricket
It’s worth noting that Shaw captained India’s U-19 World Cup-winning squad in 2018, which included several players who have now acquired spots for themselves in Indian cricket. Shubman Gill, now India's Test captain, Arshdeep Singh,who play a very vital role in the T20I squad and is also World Cup winner; and Riyan Parag, a regular for Rajasthan Royals and a stand-in captain in Sanju Samson’s absence — all have played under Shaw’s leadership.
Unfortunately, Shaw has now slipped far down the pecking order for national call-up, with an ever-growing pool of young batting talent both emerging and the one who are still holding their places in the Indian side.
Dinesh Lad on Suryavanshi, Mhatre's rise
Lad, having witnessed Shaw’s journey from starting, is disappointed that such immense talent was compromised by off-field choices. He emphasised that while Indian cricket continues to thrive, with young stars like Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre making headlines through the ranks at the IPL and age-group levels — a unique talent like Shaw’s still feels irreplaceable.
“Even now, I feel there should be a batter like him, the way he used to bat. Although right now we have some truly outstanding batters. For example, the way Vaibhav Suryavanshi is batting, and the way Ayush Mhatre is batting. These are future cricketers in the making. They are getting ready in line. Indian cricket is almost at the top,” Lad concluded.
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