Prithvi Shaw, the young Indian batsman, has signed a deal to play for Northamptonshire in the remainder of the County Championship season and the Royal London One-Day Cup.
The 23-year-old, who has played 11 Tests and 31 ODIs for India, is currently out of the national team reckoning. He last played for India in a Test match against South Africa in January 2023.
Shaw is expected to join Northamptonshire after the Duleep Trophy, which is scheduled to be played from July 12 to 16. He will be available for the final two rounds of the County Championship, as well as the entire Royal London One-Day Cup.
Northamptonshire’s head coach, David Ripley, said that Shaw was a “fabulous talent” and that he was “excited” to have him in the squad.
“Prithvi is a fabulous talent, and we are excited to have him in our squad,” Ripley said. “He is a young man with a lot of potential and we believe that he can develop his game further in English conditions.”
Shaw is the fifth Indian cricketer to sign a deal to play county cricket in England this season. Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Arshdeep Singh, and Navdeep Saini are the other four players.
“Yes, Prithvi will be leaving once he finishes his Duleep Trophy assignment for West Zone. He is likely to play the July 19-22 game against Somerset if all goes well,” said an anonymous source close to the cricketer.
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In recent times, Shaw has been in and out of the Indian team due to his inconsistent performances. He was dropped from the Test team after the tour of Australia in 2020-21 and has not been able to cement his place in the ODI and T20I teams either. However, he remains a key member of the Delhi Capitals team in the IPL and has shown flashes of his potential in the tournament. Shaw will be hoping to regain his form and cement his place in the Indian team in the years to come.
Prithvi Shaw’s achievements:
- youngest Indian to score a Test century on debut
- youngest player to score a century on Duleep Trophy debut
- captain of the India Under-19 team that won the 2018 Under-19 World Cup
- retained by Delhi Capitals ahead of the Tata IPL Auction 2022
Shaw will be hoping to use his stint in England to regain his form and force his way back into the Indian team. He has been in good form in domestic cricket in recent months, scoring 827 runs in 10 matches for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.
Northamptonshire are currently seventh in the County Championship table. They will be hoping that Shaw’s arrival can help them to push for a top-four finish. The Royal London One-Day Cup is scheduled to start on August 2. The final will be played on September 11.