ENG vs IND: Prithvi Shaw Trains With Team India For First Time

Prithvi Shaw has joined the Indian cricket team ahead of the fourth England vs India Test a the Ageas Bowl, Southampton.

Uncapped 18-year old Shaw got the first taste of training with the senior Indian team.  The highly-rated opener trained with the team as the world number one Test side started preparations for the crucial fourth Test.

Shaw along with Hanuma Vihari received his maiden India call-up. Both the players impressed in domestic cricket and then caught the eyes with sone splendid knocks for India A.

Shaw has not looked back since making his first-class debut. The 18-year old made his first-class debut for Mumbai in the semi-finals of the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy on 1 January 2017. He had gone on score a century in the second innings to bag the Man of the Match award.

The right-handed batsman also scored a century in his debut match of the Duleep Trophy. He equaled the record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who had scored for the first time a century each in his debut matches of Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy respectively. He then led India to Under-19 World Cup title and impressed in the Indian Premier League.

Shaw then went on to impress for India A in the last couple of months. In a first-class game against West Indies ‘A’ in Beckenham, he scored 188 before notching up two centuries and a half century in the List A games on the ‘A’ tour to England. He recently scored another century against South Africa in Bengaluru.

And the stunning run helped him earn his first call from the senior side at the age of just 18. He replaced out-of-form Murali Vijay in the 18-member Indian squad.

Young @PrithviShaw gearing up for the nets session here at The Ageas Bowl.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/p5DdaReDrJ

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 27, 2018

Talking about Vihari, he has been one of the most consistent performers in domestic cricket in the last few years. Among active cricketers, Vihari has the world’s best ‘s first-class average of 59.45. The second in the list is Australia’s Steven Smith, averaging 57.27 while Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara all average between 53 and 55.

He then impressed for India A.  Vihari was the third-highest run-getter in the one-day tri-series (253 runs in three innings with a best of 147 against West Indies A). In his most recent first-class game against South Africa A in Bengaluru, he struck a match-winning 148.

He had finished the last Ranji Trophy season with 752 runs in six matches at 94.00, including a career-best 302 not out. Vihari had also impressed in the Irani Trophy by top-scoring for Rest of India with a 327-ball 183 against Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha.

Meanwhile, India trail the ongoing series 1-2 and need to win the fourth Test to keep their hopes of winning the series alive.

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Snapshots from #TeamIndia's training session at The Ageas Bowl today.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/ngCDwgmcJh

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 27, 2018