Prithvi Pankaj Shaw is an Indian cricketer who plays as a right-handed opening batsman. He rose to prominence as a teenage prodigy in Mumbai cricket and went on to captain the India Under-19 team to victory in the 2018 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He has represented India in Test, One Day International, and Twenty20 International cricket, and plays domestic cricket for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.
| Full name | Prithvi Pankaj Shaw |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 November 1999, Thane, Maharashtra |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Bowling | Right-arm off-break |
| Role | Opening batsman |
| Domestic team | Mumbai |
| IPL franchises | Delhi Daredevils / Delhi Capitals |
| Test debut | October 2018, vs West Indies, Rajkot |
| ODI debut | February 2020, vs New Zealand |
| T20I debut | July 2021, vs Sri Lanka |
Prithvi Shaw was born on 9 November 1999 in Thane, Maharashtra. He lost his mother at the age of four and was raised by his father, Pankaj Shaw, who relocated the family within Mumbai to support his cricketing ambitions. Shaw began training under coach Raju Pathak and later joined the Rizvi Springfield High School in Bandra, a school known for producing Mumbai cricketers.
He gained national attention in November 2013 when, as a 14-year-old, he scored 546 runs in a single innings in a Harris Shield inter-school match for Rizvi Springfield, one of the highest individual scores recorded in school cricket worldwide. This innings drew sponsorship offers and brought him into the Mumbai age-group setup.
Shaw made his first-class debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy in the 2016–17 season against Tamil Nadu, scoring a century on debut. In the 2017 Duleep Trophy he became one of the youngest cricketers to score a century on Duleep Trophy debut, while playing for India Red. He has continued to score heavily in Mumbai's domestic campaigns and has captained the side in the Ranji Trophy.
In the 2020–21 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Shaw was the highest run-scorer of the tournament and played a leading role in Mumbai's title win, including a double century in the final against Uttar Pradesh.
Shaw captained the India Under-19 team at the 2018 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. India won the tournament, beating Australia in the final at Mount Maunganui, and Shaw finished as one of the leading scorers of the competition.
Shaw made his Test debut against the West Indies at Rajkot in October 2018, scoring a century in his first Test innings. He became one of the youngest Indians to score a century on Test debut. He has subsequently played Tests in Australia and England.
He made his ODI debut for India during the tour of New Zealand in February 2020 and his T20I debut against Sri Lanka in July 2021 in Colombo, where he scored a half-century in his first international T20 innings.
Shaw was bought by the Delhi Daredevils (later renamed Delhi Capitals) in the 2018 IPL auction. He has remained with the franchise across multiple seasons and is known for aggressive opening, including a number of high-scoring fifties at the top of the order.
In July 2019, the BCCI announced that Shaw had been suspended for an inadvertent doping violation after testing positive for terbutaline, a substance that he had ingested through a cough syrup. The back-dated suspension ran until November 2019, after which he resumed competitive cricket.
Shaw is an attacking opening batsman known for a compact technique, quick footwork, and a willingness to drive on the up. His stroke-play, particularly through the off-side, has drawn comparisons in Indian media to senior batsmen of earlier generations, though such comparisons are debated.
Shaw is regarded as one of the most prominent products of Mumbai's school and age-group cricket system in the 2010s. His Harris Shield innings, Under-19 World Cup captaincy, and a Test century on debut at 18 placed him within a tradition of Mumbai opening batsmen that includes Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rohit Sharma, and he has been a recurring subject of discussion in debates about youth talent management in Indian cricket.