'Going To See The Real Prithvi Shaw': Ricky Ponting Makes A Bold Remark On Shaw Ahead Of IPL 2023

Ahead of the IPL 2023, Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting spoke about India’s talented young batter Prithvi Shaw. The Mumbai-based batter lost his spot in the Indian team and was also involved in a quarrel with the fans recently.

“I think we are going to see the real Prithvi Shaw this season,” Ponting said. “He’s in a better physical shape than I’ve ever seen him before. I spoke to him the other day about his attitude, the way he’s working, and how things are going. I honestly feel that this is going to be his biggest season in the IPL. He just has that different look in his eye this year. You can see, he’s hungrier than ever,” Ponting said.

The former Australia skipper took part in 168 Tests where he scored  13,378 runs with 41 centuries and 62 fifties. In 375 ODIs, he made  13,704 runs with the help of  30 centuries and 82 fifties.

“It just seems to me that this season, something has really clicked with Prithvi. I actually said to him at the end of the training two days ago, ‘This game, if you don’t pay full attention to it, it’ll take away from you. But if you put in the hard yards, it will give back to you all the time.’ That’s why I feel that this could be a really big year for him.”

The former Australia great was also involved in many brawls at the beginning of his career. He was once banned for three matches.   “It is well documented that I had some issues early on,” Ponting said.

Ponting was an integral part of the Australian team that won three consecutive ODI World Cups in 1999, 2003, and 2007.

“It’s all about just being true to yourself and wanting to be the best that you can be. The one thing that I always say to our players is that I don’t like laziness and guys not utilizing the talent that they’ve got. That’s my job as a coach. Looking back at my career… there wasn’t as much spotlight on me back then as some of the Indian guys just through the sheer amount of numbers, media and everything,” he added.

“It’s about letting the players understand how big what they are actually doing is in public size. As a player sometimes you don’t see the bigger picture of it than just you playing cricket. It’s how everyone else perceives you in the real world. The IPL, for all these youngsters, is not the real world.”

Ponting also stressed being disciplined and focused. “The better person you are, it is easy to become a better player. If you haven’t got your personal life in order, it is really difficult to become a disciplined performer on the field.”