‘This is what life is’: Prithvi Shaw on falling in pecking order behind Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad

The likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shaw’s Mumbai teammate Ruturaj Gaikwad have risen in the pecking order and gone way ahead of the 23-year-old who made his India debut way back in 2018.

Shaw last played for India in a T20I match against Sri Lanka in July 2021. He was included in the team for India’s home T20I series against New Zealand earlier this year but did not get a chance in the eleven.

“When I came back for the T20s against New Zealand, I didn’t get a chance [to play] but this is what life is,” he said. “Sometimes you get chances, sometimes you don’t. You have to accept it. It’s not like I’ll be sitting down there and thinking ‘why, why’.

“I mean, I do ask myself that question but at the end of the day, if you go there and perform well, do your fitness routines, score well, you’ll be there. I just try and be as positive as I can,” Shaw told ESPNcricinfo.

Further, Shaw said that he would continue to bat in aggressive fashion as it was in his batting DNA, however admitted that he needs to be “a little smarter than he is” in his approach to bring consistency to his game.

“I feel whatever has brought me till here, I will stick to that method, be the same. If I change right now for something, for example, I can’t bat like [Cheteshwar] Pujara sir. He can’t bat like me. I just try to do what has brought me here, everything God has given me, like this aggressive batting. I don’t like to change that, be it T20 or any format. The mindset is the same across formats, obviously I won’t go slashing if I shouldn’t in red-ball cricket, but mindset is to be aggressive,” Shaw said.

Shaw featured in West Zone’s Duleep Trophy 2023 semi-final match against Central Zone and scored 26 and 25 runs in the first and second innings respectively. He will be seen playing in the final against South Zone from Wednesday, July 12.