Ricky Ponting, the head coach of the Delhi franchise, thinks that opening batter Prithvi Shaw could fire on every bolt during the Indian T20 League (ITL) 2023. The 48-year-old said the youngster's dedication has impressed him and that he expects Shaw to have a breakout season this year.
Shaw has a solid ITL record, having scored 1588 runs in 63 matches with a strike rate of 147.25. Despite an excellent strike rate of 152.97 that he got in the previous season, the right-hander only achieved 283 runs in ten innings at an average of 28.30. As a result, he would try to improve on his disastrous performance in IPL 2023.
What did Ricky Ponting say about Prithvi Shaw?
The former Australian captain spoke to the reporters and discussed how Prithvi Shaw can have a breakout season this year. He said, “He's trained harder and better than I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure leading into an IPL, he is in better physical shape than I've ever seen him before. And I spoke to him the other day about his attitude and the way that he's working and how things are going. I honestly feel that this is going to be his biggest season ever in the IPL."
Ponting then further discussed that Shaw has serious talent and we might see what he is really made of this year around. He said, “He just has that different look in his eye this year - you can see that he's probably hungrier than ever. Yes he's had some success for us, but I think with the level of talent and ability that he's got, I think we're going to see the real Prithvi Shaw this season."
Shaw, who is expected to start the innings alongside captain David Warner in the Indian T20 League 2023, had an outstanding Ranji Trophy season this year, scoring 595 runs in a total of six matches for Mumbai at a batting average of 59.50. His maximum score of 379 against Assam, earlier this season was the second highest score by an individual in the history of the Ranji Trophy.
Fans react to a bold statement by Ricky Ponting on Prithvi Shaw : -
Ricky Ponting said, "we're going to see the real Prithvi Shaw this season".
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 25, 2023
Fake Prithvi Shaw when Real Prithvi Shaw walks in pic.twitter.com/pa1rLvtxpK
— Pandit Jofra Archer (@Punn_dit) March 25, 2023
Oh rickyyyyyy 💦💦💦💦
— Un-Lucky (@Luckyytweets) March 25, 2023
U mean this ? pic.twitter.com/RgAzyx6MNI
— Prasanna Ganesh Thunga (@_monkinthecity_) March 25, 2023
Did he got treatment for hair transplant or what? pic.twitter.com/90xb8p3JNo
— Dinesh Kumar (@dineshkumar_25) March 25, 2023
Last season he said this for Pant
— MaHi ⚡ (@MaHi_Shreyasian) March 25, 2023
Result:- Pant didn't even score a single 50
Ponting is panauti..
Prithvi tho Gaya
Shaw way better than overrated Gill
— KRISHNA (@KrishnaVK_18) March 25, 2023
1st ball duck i guess
— ᴍᴏɴɪꜱʜ (@csk_msd7) March 25, 2023