In IPL 2023, DC opener Prithvi Shaw scored only 40 runs in 6 innings. This year’s average and strike rate are his lowest in the league.
With scores of 13, 12, 7, 0, 15, and 0, Prithvi Shaw has had a nightmare start to the IPL 2023. His flaws against sheer pace and the moving ball have once again been exposed. Shaw has only made it to the conclusion of the powerplay once in six attempts this IPL.
He has only eight boundaries and has batted 40 deliveries. That is much below standard for someone of Shaw’s caliber. Batting long was never his forte in this format, but in the 16th edition of the competition, he has yet to provide the Delhi Capitals with a single fast start. His strike rate of 117 is by far the lowest in his IPL career.
The outcome has been instructive for DC. They lost their first five matches before edging out a win over the Kolkata Knight Riders after nearly making a mountain out of the 128-run goal at the Kotla. This is not to say that Shaw is solely to blame for DC’s disastrous run in the tournament, but as one of their top-tier players, he must bear the brunt of the blame.
In response to Shaw’s struggles in 2017 IPL, former England captain Michael Vaughan stated that the gifted right-hander can no longer rely on reputation. Vaughan believes it is past time for him to find a way to score runs.
“Mark Wood bowled him early in the tournament.” His feet didn’t go anywhere. He was hoping for a short one, but it was pitched up and he was nowhere near the ball’s line. I believe Prithvi requires more runs. He can’t just go on reputation, harping on what you’ve done in the past; you have to deliver runs here and there. He’s had a rough start. “I don’t believe he has progressed beyond the powerplay,” Vaughan stated on Cricbuzz.
It is even more interesting that Shaw came into this IPL in fantastic form. His offensive performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s and the majority of runs in the Ranji Trophy opened the door for his return to the Indian team. Shaw’s form in the lead-up to the IPL was so strong that former Australia captain and current DC head coach Ricky Ponting predicted this would be Shaw’s best-ever season.
The Mumbai resident, on the other hand, has moved south. With DC finally getting off to a winning start against KKR, the management hopes that Shaw can do the same in the second half of the season.
