Prithvi Shaw Reminds Me Of Virender Sehwag; He Has No Fear Of Getting Out - Muttiah Muralitharan

Former Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan talked highly about young India opener Prithvi Shaw in the buildup to the upcoming ODI and T20I series between India and Sri Lanka. Shikhar Dhawan is going to captain a second-string Indian squad for 3 ODIs starting Sunday, followed by 3 T20Is.

Speaking about Shaw, Muttiah Muralitharan said the diminutive opener’s fearlessness reminds him of Virender Sehwag, who used to imbue fear in the opposition bowlers with his audacious strokeplay.

The legendary spinner who is the leading international wicket-taker underlined that even if Shaw bats for a small amount of time, he will make a significant impact on the game since he bats with alacrity.

“As for Prithvi Shaw, he is a better one-day and T20 player than a Test player because the way he plays, it reminds me of someone like Sehwag. He takes a lot of risk and he puts the bowling side under pressure. If he scores, India will have a good chance of winning because he can score a huge total within a short frame of time. He’s got the talent and he is fearless. He has no fear of getting out,” Muttiah Muralitharan told ESPNCricinfo.

India should encourage Shaw to play his natural game: Muttiah Muralitharan

Prithvi Shaw has been in surreal form in 2021 after being dropped from the Test side last year in Australia. He smashed 827 runs at an average of 165.4 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, then followed it up with scintillating knocks in the IPL 2021 – 308 runs in 8 innings while striking at 166.49 – before the tournament was suspended, but he managed to storm back in the national reckoning.

Muttiah Muralitharan maintained that the 21-year-old should be given freedom by the management to play his natural game, while Dhawan can play the second fiddle at the other end.

“India should encourage him to do that (play his natural game) because you need players to win matches. He will be very dangerous. Shikhar can go on normally. I know him very well because he was with Sunrisers and a good performer.

“So, he can go normally and Prithvi can damage the bowling if he stays at the wicket. That’s a big advantage of India,” the former spinner added.

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