It was an open secret that Prithvi Shaw would be heading to Northamptonshire this season. On Monday, it became official.
The India opener, looking for form and somewhere to get his game back on track, will make his debut for the county side against Gloucestershire in Cheltenham in the One-Day Cup on Friday.
Visa formalities delayed Shaw's joining and he could not play two four-day County Championship games.
In a media release, Shaw said, "It's a great opportunity for me and I'm really thankful to Northamptonshire for giving me this chance to express myself here. It's going to be amazing I think and I'm really looking forward to it."
Out of favour with selectors, Shaw hasn’t played for India since the tour of Sri Lanka in July 2021. He had a forgettable IPL for the Delhi Capitals and was dropped midway in the tournament. But he had a good run for Mumbai in the previous Ranji season.
Shaw is clear he does not want to change his game too much, going by his statements after West Zone's Duleep Trophy semifinal against Central Zone.
"Personally, I feel I don't have to change my game, but [play] a little smarter. I can't bat like (Cheteshwar) Pujara sir bats or Pujara sir can't bat like me,” he said. "So, what I am trying to do are those things that have brought me till here, for example, the aggressive batting, I don't like to change that.
He also said then that he was happy with his form in red-ball cricket, but admitted things weren’t going well in the white ball variety.
"Everything has been going nice in red ball cricket from last year itself after I scored 370 (379 vs Assam). With white ball, especially the IPL, I feel everything is going the opposite. You just have 20 overs to think about batting. I speak to Sourav (Ganguly) sir, Ricky (Ponting) sir and Praveen (Amre) sir (at Delhi Capitals).
"But red ball cricket is where you get tested and it shows how capable you are to get into the bigger level," Shaw said.
