I'm Excited About Prithvi Shaw, Have Heard A Lot About Him, Says Virat Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli, on Tuesday (December 27), said he was excited to meet teenage sensation, Prithvi Shaw. The 29-year old was attending the pre-departure press conference in Mumbai ahead of the South Africa tour when he was asked to deliver a message for the Under-19 team which is also leaving for New Zealand for the upcoming World Cup.

Kohli revealed he would talk to the Colts after being asked by their coach Rahul Dravid before expressing his excitement to meet Shaw who has taken domestic cricket by storm.

“I’ll be meeting them. Rahul Dravid had asked me to talk to them. Even I’m excited about Prithvi Shaw. I’ve heard a lot about him, Ravi bhai has also spoken very highly of him. He has put up some good performances in first-class cricket. It’s not very easy, very rarely you get to see such players. He has been made the captain ahead of some of the other players who have played Under-19, which means there is some special talent in him,” Kohli said.

Shaw, who shot to limelight after scoring 546 runs from 330 balls in a Harris Shield match, has not looked back since making his first-class debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy semifinal last season. He went on score a century in the second innings to bag the Man of the Match award in the game and also scored a century in his debut match of the Duleep Trophy and equalled the record held by Sachin Tendulkar who had scored a century each in his debut matches of Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. In 9 first-class games, Shaw has already scored five centuries and three fifties and was recently named the captain of the Under-19 team.

Kohli, meanwhile, further said that the Under-19 World Cup is a good platform for the youngsters to get a feel of what to expect at the highest stage of the game. He also advised the youngsters to enjoy their game.

“If you’re getting an opportunity at this age with live telecast and media coverage, it needs to be respected because you get very few opportunities like this. When they saw us on live TV, did people realise how well we play. It’s a very big opportunity which needs to be understood well. But it is more important that the players don’t take much pressure on themselves and enjoy this,” said Kohli who had led India to Under-19 World Cup win in 2008.

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