‘He has the ability of Virender Sehwag’: Jaffer impressed with young India opener

The flair with which Prithvi Shaw his plays shots, Jaffer says, reminds him of another flamboyant India opener – who redefined the role of opening the batting in Test – Virender Sehwag

There is no doubt about Prithvi Shaw’s ability. Why else, at just 19, would people start comparing him to the great Sachin Tendulkar? Shaw is a gifted cricketer, having all that’s required to become a big player for India in the years to come, but for that, the youngster needs to fine tune certain aspects of himself, feels former India opener Wasim Jaffer.

Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag batting together for India. (Getty Images)

In October of 2018, Shaw became the 15th Indian batsman to score a Test century on debut when he hit 134 against West Indies in Rajkot. The flair with which he plays shots, Jaffer says, reminds him of another flamboyant India opener – who redefined the role of opening the batting in Test – Virender Sehwag. That said, Jaffer points out the areas where he feels Shaw can do with a bit of improvement.

“I think he is a special player, without a doubt. The shots he hits, if he gets going, he has the ability of Virender Sehwag I feel,” Jaffer told Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel. “He can completely demolish an attack.” But somewhere I feel he needs to understand his game better, where he needs to take a backseat. I feel he got found out a little bit in New Zealand, got dismissed two times off a short delivery. He fell into their trap.”

Shortly after he injured his ankle during a practice match of India’s 2018/19 tour of Australia, Shaw was in news for the wrong reasons as rumours of his indiscipline began to surface. In fact, the extent was such that the BCCI urged Tendulkar to meet with Shaw and explain to the youngster the importance of discipline. Shaw eventually made a return to the Indian team during the tour of New Zealand but barring a half-century in the second Test at Christchurch, couldn’t quite make an impact.

Jaffer feels Shaw needs to control himself in that aspect to become a bigger, more successful player for India. “I also feel that he needs to get more disciplined in his off-field life. Because I feel he has the game to succeed at international level. But he needs to be a lot more disciplined outside cricket also,” the former Mumbai and Vidarbha batsman said.