The Indian cricketer Prithvi Shaw marked an iconic comeback in domestic cricket while playing for Maharashtra, his new state team, smashing a century on debut during the Buchi Babu Trophy match against Chattisgarh. The opponents have put up a score of 242 runs, whereas Maharashtra could score only 217 runs, of which only 111 runs came from Shaw's bat.
The 25-year-old's struggle with fitness in recent years has been a talking point as one of India's greatest talents faded from the spotlight, but this innings might open the doors for the star batter to go on a long run.
After the game ended, Shaw said,
"I don't mind coming from scratch again because I've seen many ups and downs in my life. I'm kind of a very confident guy, confident in myself and my work ethic. I feel, and I hope, that this season will go really well for me as well as for my team."
Shaw looked quite confident when he reached his half century, while the opening partnership was worth 71 runs. After that the wickets fell like a card from the other end, including a return of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was able to score only 1. But Shaw didn't lose hope and stayed positive throughout, taking the situation under control.
Talking about what changed him to bring such a performance, he stated it was just a matter of some changes in life, fixing the small mistakes, and learning from them.
He said,
"I don't want to change anything. I just went back to basics, doing things that I used to do in Under-19 days, which got me to the Indian team, just doing all the stuff back again, you know. Practicing more, gym, running. It's small things, obviously; it's not that big because I've been doing these things since the ages of 12 and 13."
Further, he said,
"Just trying to be myself and not really trying to be on social media or anything and those kinds of distractions. Nowadays social media is quite bad. It's kind of peaceful when I'm not using it."
Meanwhile, when Shaw was asked about whether any former players or teammates talked to him about his century and a good start to this phase. The answer was a no, but Shaw maintained this wasn't what he waslooking for.
He said,
"I mean, it's fine. I mean, I don't want anyone's sympathy. It's okay. I've seen this before as well. I've got my family's support. Additionally, my friends supported me during a time when I was struggling with my mental health. So it's okay."