Legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting whose seven-year tenure with Delhi Capitals (DC) as head coach feels that Indian opener Prithvi Shaw ‘shouldn’t be an outlier’ in the team. Ponting regrets that he could not get the best out of India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Shaw who was touted as the next big thing.
“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. 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” the 49-year-old said.
Ponting said that he had conversations with Shaw. He believes in Shaw’s abilities and hopes he does justice to it.
“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” he said.
Ricky also talked about how coaches have backup plans ready when a player fails to give them the desired results.
“But sometimes there's only so much you can give and so many times you can try. 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,” he added.
Shaw who has been a part of DC since 2018 has featured in 79 matches scoring 1892 runs at an average of 23.95. Shaw has shown flashes of brilliance but his consistency has always been questioned by former cricketers.
The curious case of Prithvi Shaw
Despite Shaw's impressive reputation, he didn't get to play in all the matches in IPL 2024. He was included in the playing XI for only eight games in the season, where he struggled to make an impact with 198 runs an average of 24.75. His performance was also lackluster in the 2023 season, with 8 games yielding a disappointing average of 13.25 with 108 runs to his name.
Shaw has represented India in all three formats of the game. He made the perfect Test debut scoring a century. He has since played five Tests, six ODIs, and one T20I.
DC search for new coach
Meanwhile, DC are searching for a new head coach. DC’s Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly threw his hat in the ring but is unlikely to take up the role ahead of the mega auction.
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