Out-of-favour India batter Prithvi Shaw is having a tough time in cricket. He could not find any takers at the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The 2018 U-19 World Cup winning captain was seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket, but his downfall in the past few years has taken him out of consideration for the Indian cricket team. What has become worse is the fact that Shaw will not be seen playing in IPL in the upcoming season too. Twice his name came up at the auction and despite a base price of Rs 75 lakh, not one paddle went up for him.

This will be the first time since Shaw’s IPL debut, in 2018, that the right-handed batter will not feature in a season.

Apart from lack of form, Shaw has also received a lot of criticism for his behaviour and fitness from various former India cricketers and experts. Now a former India selector has questioned his improvement.

“Prithvi has been in Delhi Capitals. In DC itself, he had a chance to interact with Rahul Dravid, who was also his U-19 India coach, Ricky Ponting, Sourav Ganguly,” a former India selector, who has watched Shaw from close quarters told PTI.

“It’s an open secret in Mumbai cricket that Tendulkar has also spoken to him. Are these legends fools? Do you see any change in him? Even if there is, it is not evident,” he added.

At the IPL 2025 auction, no one was remotely interested in Shaw, who had blazed into the collective consciousness of Indian fans with his boyish charm and a game to match.

But six years is a long time and after the IPL rejection, Shaw now stands at the crossroads in his career — it can either go boom or bust depending on what he wants to make out of his talent.

In Indian cricket, there’s a saying that perception travels faster than light and in case of Shaw, there’s nothing positive coming from any quarter. Even Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) dropped him from Ranji Trophy squad for being unfit before calling him back for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

(With PTI Inputs)