Being caught up in two minds hindered my performance in New Zealand, reveals Prithvi Shaw

Questions were raised on Prithvi Shaw’s batting approach away from home in New Zealand. The right-hander was constantly caught on the crease to deliveries that swung away from the bat after pitching. On top of that, he fell short in his favourite area, pulling deliveries straight to the fielders. After the series, Shaw recalled that being caught in two minds definitely played a part in his bad performance. He added that next time he could do better by leaving some of the short deliveries. However, he ensured that next time a short delivery comes his way, the right-hander will play with an uncluttered mind. 

“On this tour, I was in two minds about whether to leave them or play at them. Next time, if a short ball comes, I will play it with an uncluttered mind. I know that in the future too, there will be a lot of short balls bowled at me. The strongest part of my game is my back foot, which helped me play short deliveries. However, sometimes, it does happen that even though it is your favourite area, you tend to get out there,” he said, reported Cricbuzz. 

The opener also admitted that it is crucial to keep the scoreboard ticking at the top of the order in away conditions. In the recently concluded New Zealand series, it was obvious how scoreboard pressure had a telling effect on the outcome of the Test series with India losing the series 2-0. The Mumbaikar was also seen working constantly in the nets with the Indian coach, Ravi Shastri. He admitted that both Kohli and Shastri have backed him nicely thus far in international cricket. 

Shaw, who himself was captain of the U-19 World Cup-winning team further admitted that playing in the World Cup would be his next stepping stone.

“I want to play in a World Cup. Having won the Under-19 World Cup as a captain, I want to lift the senior World Cup trophy as well. That would be a big thing for me and the country. Well, obviously Virat bhai and Ravi sir have backed me since my debut. They have always been nice to me. They know where I have to improve. We have had a lot of discussions about that and they have backed me nicely,” he concluded.