Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy | Prithvi Shaw to return to competitive cricket after injury break
Three months after rolling his ankle in Australia, which forced him to miss the Test series, Prithvi Shaw is set to return to action. The opener was named in the Mumbai squad, which is to be led by Ajinkya Rahane, for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which begins in Indore from February 21.
After showing so much promise in two Test matches he played for India, Prithvi Shaw missed out on the opportunities he would have got in the historic India tour of Australia, where his fellow mates won the Test series 2-1 due to the ankle injury he got while fielding during a practice match.
"I am really looking forward to taking the field again and performing at my best. I have missed playing competitive cricket due to my injury and I'm ready now to give my best for Mumbai and India," Shaw was quoted as saying to TOI.
The 19-year-old has spent considerable time undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. After slamming a hundred on his Test debut in October last year, Shaw was looking like someone who was a solution to India's opening slot problem in Test cricket, but the injury stopped him to play any further.
When he was rushed to hospital it was discovered that he had torn his ligament. Though it was initially thought that he might be ready to play in the second Test, Shaw eventually had to miss the entire series.
"I thought I would recover, but the swelling kept coming back," Shaw said.
"Initially, I was very sad to miss the Tests in Australia, because I wanted to win games for India. I would have gained good experience playing against a quality attack, but I can't do anything about it. However, I felt better when we beat Australia in the Test series."
On Thursday, Shaw cleared the Yo-Yo test at the NCA, which convinced the Mumbai selectors led by former Indian all-rounder Ajit Agarkar, that the batsman was now fit to be picked. Still hurting after crashing out of the league stage of the Ranji Trophy this season, Mumbai will be blessed by the presence of not just Shaw, but also Rahane and Shreyas Iyer, who missed quite a few games this season due to their India 'A' commitments.
After a long time, all their pacers Dhawal Kulkarni, Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande - are fit and playing together, too. With all these players available, Mumbai had begun the season in style, winning the Vijay Hazare Trophy after almost 10 years.
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