Legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble has said that the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 will be a crucial season for Prithvi Shaw, the opener for Delhi Capitals (DC). He has been retained by DC for the 2024 season.
In the previous season, he struggled, managing only 106 runs in eight matches with an average of 13.25 and a strike rate of 124.71. His IPL performances have been on the decline over the last couple of seasons.
Shaw gained prominence as a young prodigy after leading India to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. His peak performance was in the 2021 season of the IPL, where he scored 479 runs in 15 matches, with an average of 31.93 and a strike rate of 159.13.
In an interview with Jio Cinema, Kumble emphasised that Shaw needs to focus on improving his fitness, saying that there isn't much concern about his cricketing skills. He has accumulated 1694 runs in 71 matches over six seasons in the IPL.
"Prithvi Shaw has to look at his fitness. I think that's something that is constantly spoken about. It's not about his cricketing skills. Yes, there might be some chinks in his armour like all batters do. We've seen that he's someone who can take the game away in the T20 format. He's still young but he needs to work on his fitness. If Ricky Ponting, Sourav Ganguly, David Warner can't get him to work on his fitness then it's a challenge," said Kumble.
He went on to say that the IPL 2024 will determine Shaw's future, stressing that players who began their careers alongside him have progressed ahead. Currently, he is in the process of recuperating from a knee injury sustained during his county cricket tenure with Northamptonshire.
"This is something that he needs to understand. Players that have played with him have gone ahead. For example, Shubman Gill is one of India's best players and a young player who has been looking at a future with the team for a long time. And Shaw has missed out on that. So this is simply a make-or-break season for him," Kumble added.
Delhi Capitals Released Players List
Rilee Rossouw, Chetan Sakariya, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Phil Salt, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Priyam Garg.
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