IPL Auction 2025: Mohammad Kaif tears apart Prithvi Shaw for going unsold: "Matter of embarrassment"

Former India National Cricket Team batsman Mohammad Kaif launched an attack on the explosive 25-year-old opening batter Prithvi Shaw for failing to attract franchisees at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction.

Prithvi Shaw, who was once regarded as the next big thing in Indian cricket, has seen a huge downfall in his career and he faced the biggest blow when no franchise bid for him at the Indian Premier League 2025 mega auction.

Also Read: IPL Auction 2025: All Sold Players List

Prithvi Shaw played for Delhi Capitals from 2018 to 2024

Shaw made his IPL debut in 2018 for Delhi Capitals and became a vital member of the team. He was given consistent opportunities by the management and from time to time, he played some game-changing knocks for the side.

However, in the last few years, things started to change and he started struggling with his fitness. Shaw was criticized for not paying attention to his fitness, and his performance also went down.

Delhi Capitals started losing patience and the youngster was forced to warm the bench. In IPL 2023 and IPL 2024, he was given a total of 16 matches to prove his worth but he failed.

Overall, he played 79 matches in the Indian Premier League for Delhi Capitals and scored 1892 runs at an average of 23.94 and a strike rate of 147.47, with 14 half-centuries and a best score of 99.

Meanwhile, he was totally out of contention for the Indian team due to his struggles with the bat and was recently dropped from the Ranji Trophy squad of Mumbai due to disciplinary issues.

Mohammad Kaif tears Prithvi Shaw to shreds

Former Delhi Capitals assistant coach Mohammed Kaif watched Prithvi Shaw from close quarters as he worked with him at the franchise.

Mohammad Kaif said that the Delhi-based franchise backed Shaw a lot and made last-minute changes to the team, with the hope that the right-handed batter would play to his potential and win matches.

"Delhi has backed Prithvi Shaw a lot. DC had hoped that he is a powerplay player and would hit 6 boundaries in one over. And he did that too. He hit Shivam Mavi for 6 fours in an over. He had a lot of potential and DC backed him to the hilt. We always thought that if Shaw manages to score, we will win. And we gave him a lot of chances," Mohammad Kaif said on Jio Cinema during the IPL auction.

"There were meetings in the night where we would sit and ponder if Prithvi should play or not because he has been failing. So at night we would decide that Prithvi would not be in the playing XI, and then later on the day of the match, we would change our decision - that, no he will because maybe if he goes big, we would win," Mohammad Kaif added.

Maybe now, he finally goes back to basics - Mohammad Kaif

Mohammad Kaif was clearly disappointed to see Prithvi Shaw not doing well and going unsold as he said that the opening batsman should be embarrassed with himself for failing to attract franchises despite having a base price of INR 75 lakh.

He opined that Prithvi Shaw needs to grind like Sarfaraz Khan in domestic cricket if he wants to revive his cricket career.

"Prithvi got a lot of chances and teams have now finally moved on, and it is a matter of embarrassment that he did not get a bid for Rs 75 lakh. Maybe now, he finally goes back to basics. Someone like Sarfaraz Khan got into the national team by scoring lots and lots of runs," the former India cricketer concluded.