7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Prithvi Shaw's quirky take on controversies: ‘I'm cricket's Jethalal, problems come to me'
India top order batter Prithvi Shaw, who recently sought and was granted No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Mumbai to play for another state in domestic cricket, has recently compared himself to Jethalal's character from Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma.
On being asked if controversy comes to him or it's Shaw who creates one, he said, 'Nothing like this has happened for a long time, but one thing I would like to say is that controversies catch me. I am Jethalal of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah,' he said as quoted by Dainik Jagran.
To give some context, Jethalal is a popular TV character from a daily comedy soap, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma. The character of Jethala, played by Dilip Joshi, often finds himself in the middle of controversies and the show revolves around his character.
Earlier, it was reported by The Indian Express that Shaw was granted a NOC from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) after he said he wanted to represent another state as a 'professional'.
Shaw was dropped by the Mumbai senior selection committee last year from a Ranji Trophy game due to poor fitness and was prescribed a two-week fitness programme prepared by the MCA trainers. The team management had informed MCA that Prithvi Shaw's body contains 35 percent fat and that he needs rigorous training before he gets back into the side.
It was also learnt that Shaw had received offers from two-three states earlier this month. Last October, the selection committee of MCA had taken a call that Shaw needed to shed off a few kilos, if he wants to play for the Mumbai team again. His fitness and form never improved and as a result the selection committee decided to drop him from Vijay Hazare Trophy too which was played in December 2024.
Shaw, who last featured for India three years ago, highlighted his commanding 50-over record to question his exclusion. Shaw, who went unsold in the IPL Mega Auction in Jeddah last month, failed to light up the SMAT 2024 tournament, scoring only 197 runs in nine games with a best score of 49.
The 25-year-old responded to that sacking, asking what more he needed to do to convince selectors, quoting his List A numbers and promising he would be back, in his social media post. 'Tell me God, what more do I have to see.. if 65 innings, 3399 runs at an average of 55.7 with a strike rate of 126, I'm not good enough… but I will keep my faith in you and hopefully people believe in me still… cause I will come back for sure.. Om Sai Ram..'
While Shaw hasn't played List A in India since the 2022 Vijay Hazare tournament, he turned out for the One Day Cup in England for Northamptonshire County. His last five innings there were 97, 72, 9, 23, 17. When he last played for Mumbai two autumns ago, his last five scores read 32, 54, 39, 51, and 10.
