Gavaskar’s huge ‘selection committee’ remark after Prithvi Shaw’s marathon 379
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar casually highlighted the Ranji exploits of Mumbai batter Prithvi Shaw when Rohit Sharma-led Team India squared off against Sri Lanka in the 2nd One Day International (ODI) of the three-match series at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
Dubbed as the next big thing in world cricket, Mumbai opener Shaw has failed to cement his place in Team India despite starrting his career with a century on Test debut.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) opener regained top form during the 2023 edition of the Ranji Trophy. Serving a timely reminder to national selectors, Shaw smashed a record-setting triple century in the Elite Group B match against Assam at the Amingaon Cricket Ground in Guwahati. An on-song Shaw broke multiple records on his to scoring 379 off 383 balls to help Mumbai post a gigantic 1st innings total of 687-4 in 138.4 overs.
Giving Shaw a special mention on commentary duty during the ODI series between India and Sri Lanka, batting legend Gavaskar opined that the Mumbaikar has certainly acquired the attention of the national selectors following his marathon knock in the Ranji Trophy. “This is what was needed from him, he was scoring lovely 60s-70s. So many people were scoring 60s-70s. If you really want to grab the attention of the selection committee. Get the bigger hundreds, the double and triple hundreds. He almost got a 400, that would have been fantastic if he had gotten a 400-plus score,” Gavaskar said on air during India’s meeting with Sri Lanka in the 2nd ODI at Kolkata.
Shaw was recently praised by Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) secretary Jay Shah after the Mumbai opener played a gem of a knock during the World Cup year. “I think he might have made it difficult for Mumbai to think about the declaration. Because then, he would have been close to the highest-ever score by an Indian (443 not-out) in first-class cricket. There will have always been a temptation to go for that 443. It’s a very tough call,” Gavaskar added. Shaw-starrer Mumbai are in pole position to wrap up the contest after registering a gigantic total in their first essay. Assam are reduced to 36-5 and the Gokul Sharma-led side still trail Mumbai by 281 runs in the 2nd innings. Shaw, who will turn 24 in November, has played 5 Tests, 6 ODIs, and 1 T20I for India.