Mumbai dropped Prithvi Shaw ahead of the Vijay Hazare Trophy beginning on December 21. The announcement came on Tuesday, two days after Mumbai defeated Madhya Pradesh in Bengaluru to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Ajinkya Rahane, who led Mumbai to the SMAT Trophy by scoring the most runs in the event, has been rested after requesting it. Shreyas Iyer remains captain, while Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, and Shardul Thakur make up a full-strength 17-member squad. Opener Ayush Mhatre, who missed the SMAT to join India’s Under-19 Asia Cup side, returns.
Shaw’s omission comes as his form and fitness continue to be questioned. He failed to reach a half-century in nine innings in the SMA Trophy, scoring 197 runs with a best of 49 against Vidarbha in the quarter-finals.
Shaw expressed surprise at his absence by sharing his List A stats in an Instagram story. “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 and hopefully people believe in me still…cause I will come back for sure. Om Sai Ram.”
Shaw has been in the spotlight since being dropped from Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy squad in October due to fitness and disciplinary issues. While he received encouragement from Greg Chappell and Kevin Pietersen, Iyer is concerned about Shaw’s fitness standards and “work ethic.” Shaw also went unsold in the IPL auction for the first time in December.
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