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While Prithvi Shaw's career seems to be derailing rapidly, he has been handed another lifeline by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Shaw's apparent indiscipline led to him being dropped from Mumbai's Vijay Hazare Trophy squad, despite boasting good statistics in List A cricket. Now, however, Shaw has been included to play in another tournament. Shaw has been named in the 18-man squad that will represent the MCA Colts in the Police Invitation Shield Cricket Tournament 2024-25. Moreover, Shaw has been made captain of the side.
While the level of the tournament may be beneath what a player of Shaw's talent is capable of, the decision to include him in the team shows that the MCA are still willing to persist with Shaw in some capacity.
Although Shaw was a part of Mumbai's victorious Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squad, skipper Shreyas Iyer had said that Shaw needs to get his "work ethics" right.
After he was dropped, Shaw took to social media, stating, "Tell me God, what more do I have to see."
In the aftermath of those statements, however, anonymous sources within the MCA have revealed the reasons behind Shaw being dropped. While the primary concern has been Shaw's fitness, an unnamed source also told PTI that Shaw cannot be babysat anymore, and that he would often miss training sessions after staying out all night and returning at "six in the morning".
"The fitness concern is there, but the performance is also not there currently. He needs to work on his fitness, discipline, and performance. The main issue is the fitness. You see the matches. You get the image, right? Just by looking at his frame, the fitness issues are there for everyone to see," a source within the Mumbai Cricket Association," had told Hindustan Times.
The Police Invitation Shield Cricket Tournament may turn out to be Shaw's final chance as a Mumbai cricketer should he fail to grab the opportunity and show signs of improvement in performance and discipline.