Former Pakistani captain, Salman Butt thinks that comparing legends like Sehwag and Viv Richards with Prithvi Shaw, early in his International career is unfair. Salman but also added that playing aggressive cricket is not enough for a cricketer to be compared with the legendary Virendra Sehwag and Viv Richards.

Prithvi Shaw scored to 40 plus scores in the recently concluded ODI series against Sri Lanka. Prithvi Shaw failed to convert his starts into big innings.  According to the India team management , Prithvi Shaw has been given allowance to play his natural game but Prithvi Shaw needs to put a price tag on his wicket.

Salman Butt on Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw of Delhi Capitals plays a shot during match 16 of season 13 of the Indian Premier League (IPL ) between the Delhi Capitals and the Kolkata Knight Riders held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on the 3rd October 2020. Photo by: Rahul Gulati / Sportzpics for BCCI

Has Salman Butt adjudged correctly?

“Some fans feel it is wrong to ask Prithvi Shaw to alter his game. They point out to Virender Sehwag and Viv Richards, who succeeded by playing their own brand of cricket. When you start producing results, you can stake a claim to a particular style of play being yours. You have to score big runs and hundreds to justify a different kind of mindset while batting.”

Salman Butt also explained that Prithvi Shaw needs to  do justice with his hard-hitting style of game and convert his starts into big scores.

Salman Butt on Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw with his Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting

Salman Butt also added that players like Virendra Sehwag and Viv Richards are very rare and they are once in a decade players.

“Look at the gap between Richards and Sehwag’s careers. It took nearly 10-15 years after Richards for the cricket world to see a player with a similar attacking mindset in Sehwag. Richards scored 180 in England at a time when 225 was considered a good ODI total. Sehwag scored two triple hundreds in Test cricket and averaged over 50 for most of his career. Just by playing like them, one cannot become a Sehwag or a Richards. You have to put up that kind of a performance.”

Salman Butt suggest that Prithvi Shaw needs to to work on his game and Prithvi Shaw is capable of producing better results. Prithvi Shaw has all the shots in his book. Salman Butt also give an example of Prithvi Shaw’s performances in New Zealand. In New Zealand Prithvi Shaw unable to convert his starts into big scores.

Salman Butt on Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw still have a long to go in order to be an automatic choice

“To give himself stability, a youngster has to convert starts. Talking of Prithvi Shaw, I saw him playing one-dayers for India in New Zealand as well. He used to hit three-four cracking boundaries and then get out. So, when something is not letting you continue and stopping you from making a big score, you need to modify it. You first need to score runs and then shape up in your own style.”

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“He has all the strokes in his repertoire, but Prithvi Shaw is playing too many shots too early. He needs to take into consideration factors like time, pace, wicket and opposition and manage his innings accordingly. Even the great Sachin Tendulkar paced his innings as per the situation,”  Salman Butt added.

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Prithvi Shaw has played 6 ODI games for team India. Prithvi Shaw has played with the strike rate of more than 110. Prithvi Shaw’s highest score in ODI is 49 runs.

Also Read : What’s special about Prithvi Shaw’s technique?

By Shivanshu Chauhan

A Professional Cricketer for past 4 Years for the teams of Lucknow and CISCE. He keeps an eye on all the Cricket insights which sometimes professional journos lack. He Keeps the wicket on the 22 Yards and takes care of the board meetings over here. No Official Statements go off from the website because of him. He keeps you updated by breaking News both in English and Hindi.