Prithvi Shaw, who scores his first double hundred after his return to competitive cricket, on Thursday said he was keen to get back to form quickly after spending eight months away from the game due to a doping suspension.
“I had a lot of things in my mind. I had to beat all those things. I was hungry for runs for last three months [when he was banned]. A lot of people pushed, supported me,” Shaw, who made a match-winning 202 in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy opener against Baroda, told reporters.
“You can’t say that I wasted my ban period. I utilised it for training. Somewhere in my mind, I was keen to get back to my best form as soon as I returned from my ban,” he said.
On a pitch that was not the easiest to bat on in Vadodara, Shaw followed up his 66 in the first innings with 202 in the second innings to put Mumbai in a position to push for an outright win.
Shaw said he wanted to build his innings and that’s what he did in Baroda, when the opportunity came. He has been batting with a real purpose since his return from the doping suspension as was evident in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.
“The good thing was that I managed to continue even after getting my hundred. I was a bit slow between 100 to 150, because I wanted to build my innings, and play a big knock,” he said.
Asked about his emotions on reaching his first 200, Shaw said, “I felt great. It came at the right time. I used to get out a lot of times between 100 and 150, which a lot of people have pointed out. I too felt that they were not wrong. So, it was a very good thing for me that I converted my hundred into a double hundred.”
The 20-year-old Shaw was the chief guest at the prize distribution function of the MIG Cricket Club, where he felicitated spinner Atharva Ankolarkar, who is in the Indian squad for the U-19 World Cup in South Africa. Shaw, under whose leadership India had won the previous U-19 World Cup, also gave tips to Ankolekar.
With PTI Inputs