On 9 November 1999, just a day after Sachin Tendulkar notched up an unbeaten 186 against New Zealand, another Sachin was born in Thane district of Maharashtra named Prithvi Shaw. The youngster started getting all the limelight at a minor age of just 11-years-old. His idol Sachin retired in 2013 after playing his last test against West Indies in Mumbai and in the same year Shaw blasted a record 546 runs off just 330 balls, while playing for Rizvi Springfield in the Harris Shield trophy. This was the same tournament which got the recognition to Tendulkar in 1988, when he set up a record breaking partnership with Vinod Kambli.
So much of similarities with Master Blaster was a sign that India’s future will be in safe hands and it will soon become a reality as Prithvi Shaw made his India debut today against West Indies just after being in the senior circuit for over two years.
Here are some of the unknown facts about the budding cricketer
1- Shaw started his cricketing journey at an age of 3, when his father enrolled him to a nearby cricket academy.
2- He lost his mother when he was just 4 which brought the harsh reality of life to him. His father Pankaj Shaw left his garment business to primarily focus on building the cricket career of Prithvi.
3- In a career changing move, he was offered a contract worth Rs. 3 Lacs by a sports management company owned by former India cricketer Nilesh Kulkarni. The amount of money made possible that Prithvi moved to a flat in Santa Cruz in Mumbai.
4- Shaw was just 17 years and 57 days old when he made his first-class debut for Mumbai playing against a tough Tamil Nadu in Ranji trophy 2016/17 semi-final. He went onto score a hundred in the fourth innings and became the second youngest player to score a century for Mumbai after Sachin Tendulkar(15 years and 230 days old).
5- In the Ranji trophy 2016/17 finals against Gujarat, Shaw scored a half century to become the youngest batsman to score a fifty in Ranji finals.
6- Making his Duleep Trophy debut at the age of 17 years and 320 days, Prithvi scored 154 runs on a dusty wicket of Ekana International stadium in Lucknow which turned out to be a heaven for bowlers. He was playing for India Red led by Dinesh Karthik against India Blue led by Suresh Raina.
7- The cricket documentary “Beyond all boundaries(2011)” featured Prithvi Shaw’s journey and beautifully portrayed the role of his father in shaping his career.
8- Prithvi led the India U19 to title triumph in New Zealand and scored 261 runs in five innings to be the second highest run-getter for India after Shubman Gill. He also became the fourth Indian skipper after Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli and Unmukt Chand to lead India to U19 title.
9- After the constant failure of Gautam Gambhir at the top of the innings for Delhi Daredevils, Shaw was given a chance to open the innings which made him the youngest batsman to open the batting, playing for DD against KXIP at the age of 18 and 165 days.
10- Shaw became the youngest debutant to score a test fifty for India playing against West Indies at Rajkot(4 October, 2018)
- He also becomes the youngest ever Indian to score a hundred on debut at the age of 18 years 329 days.
