When He's Not Scoring Runs, He Won't Bat In The Nets - Ricky Ponting Reveals Prithvi Shaw's 'Interesting Theory' During Last Season

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting speaks on a strange theory of Prithvi Shaw which left the Australian utterly surprised. The opener had a dismal IPL last season, averaging 17.54, and securing 8 single-digit scores in 13 matches before he was eventually dropped.

He was dropped from the Indian team as well after the Adelaide Test against Australia where he was bowled twice in the match for 0 and 4. However, he has made a strong comeback with a record-breaking Vijay Hazare tournament.

Speaking about Shaw’s struggles in IPL 2020, Ricky Ponting reveals that the opener refused to bat in the nets when he was not scoring runs. The coach says that he couldn’t comprehend the youngster’s mindset of not batting in the nets despite not scoring in the middle.

“I’ve had some really interesting chats with him through last year’s IPL, just trying to break him down, trying to find out exactly what was the right way to coach him and how I was going to get the best out of him,” Ricky Ponting told cricket.com.au.

“But he had an interesting theory on his batting last year – when he’s not scoring runs, he won’t bat, and when he is scoring runs, he wants to keep batting all the time. He had four or five games where he made under 10 and I’m telling him, ‘We have to go to the nets and work out (what’s wrong)’, and he looked me in the eye and said, ‘No, I’m not batting today’. I couldn’t really work that out,” he added.

If we can get the best out of him, he could be a superstar player: Ricky Ponting

The 46-year-old is hopeful that Shaw carries his Vijay Hazare form in the IPL as well. The Mumbai opener shattered records with his 827-run season, where he smashed 4 centuries, including a double-ton, and also leading the side to the title.

Ricky Ponting opines that Shaw must have changed some of his habits, and probably his theory as well. He reckons the 21-year-old could become a superstar if he continues to bat the same way. Last season’s runners-ups begin their IPL 2021 campaign against the Chennai Super Kings on April 10th in Mumbai.

“He might have changed. I know he’s done a lot of work over the last few months, that theory that he had might have changed, and hopefully it has, because if we can get the best out of him, he could be a superstar player,” the World Cup winning captain stated.

Also Read: Everyday I Was Learning Something New – Devdutt Padikkal Shares His Experience Of Playing Alongside Virat Kohli And AB De Villiers