Prithvi Shaw was relishing his Northamptonshire season. Away from the chaos of India and the constant attention of media and fans, a season in England just focusing on cricket is all Shaw wanted.
He said as much, well, almost.
“Not really thinking what the Indian selectors may be thinking, but I just want to have a good time here," Shaw said after scoring a spectacular 244 against Somerset a few days ago. “Northamptonshire have given me this opportunity... they're really looking after me. I'm really enjoying it.”
But Shaw suffered a serious knee injury while fielding against Durham on Sunday that has ended his season. Earlier in the game, the 23-year-old made an unbeaten 125 off 76 balls. Northamptonshire won by six wickets.
In a media release, Northamptonshire said, “Prithvi injured his knee while fielding in the fixture against Durham and subsequent scan results received this morning have revealed the injury is worse than initially expected.”
In four innings for the Steelbacks, Shaw scored 429 runs.
Among those disappointed at the turn of events was John Sadler, the head coach of Northamptonshire.
“In his short stint Prithvi has made a huge impact on us as a club. It’s a huge shame he won’t be with us for the remainder of this competition,” Sadler said.
Shaw had an effect on the dressing room as well, Sadler said.
“As well as his performances on the field he had a huge impact in our dressing room. Nobody wanted to win games more than him and he contributed to us doing so. We wish him well and hope to see him scoring runs again soon,” Sadler said.
Shaw’s run of misfortune continues with this development. In 2019, he was banned for eight months after failing a dope test. He then fell out of favour with Indian selectors, partly out of form and to some extent due to indiscipline. He hasn’t played for the country since almost two years. Shaw was also involved in an unfortunate fracas with rowdy, selfie-seeking fans, who damaged Shaw’s car after he refused additional pictures.
