“We can’t babysit anyone” - IPL 2025’s second most costliest story on Prithvi Shaw’s downfall

While many players attracted big contracts at the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction, Prithvi Shaw was among those who failed to garner attention from any of the franchises.

Once deemed the next big thing in Indian cricket, Shaw has been on the sidelines for a long time now. However, he has himself to blame given his issues with fitness, performance, and off-field controversies.

The right-hander has often been in the news for the wrong reasons and has faced such a downfall that he has also been dropped from the Mumbai squad in the domestic circuit, at times.

While there is no doubt about his talent, it is simply not enough to guarantee success in the modern day. His teammate and Mumbai captain Shreyas Iyer, the second-most costliest player at the IPL 2025 auction, stated that Prithvi Shaw is a God-gifted player but needs to improve his work ethic.

"I think, personally, he is a God-gifted player. The amount of talent he possesses as an individual, no one has it. That's true. It's just that he needs to improve his work ethics," Shreyas Iyer was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

Despite having immense talent, Iyer said that Shaw is the only one who can help himself by figuring things out in this difficult phase.

"And I have said it before as well in many of the interviews. He needs to get his work ethics right. And if he does that, you know, sky is the limit for him. Can you force him to? I can't force him. He has played so much of cricket. And everyone has given him inputs. At the end of the day, it's his job to go out there and figure out things for himself," Iyer said.

Moreover, the Mumbai captain also made what might sound a rather harsh but rightful comment. He said that Shaw had figured things out in the past and needed to do it again. He added that no one can force him to do anything and he needs to know what he should be doing as a professional player.

"We can't babysit anyone, right? Every professional who is playing at this level, they need to know what they should be doing. And he has also done it in the past. It's not that he hasn't. He has to focus. He has to sit back, put a thinking cap on and then figure out himself. He will get the answer. No one can force him to do anything," Shreyas concluded.

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Prithvi Shaw's poor performance in the 2024 season has not helped his cause

Prithvi Shaw has continued to struggle in the 2024 season. He played four Ranji Trophy matches and made just 59 runs. In the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, his performance was just ordinary with 197 runs at an average of 21.88.

Barring a 26-ball 49 in the quarterfinal, Shaw failed to put up any other notable performance. In the last two games as well, he made just 8 and 10 runs respectively, not making a significant contribution in Mumbai's triumph.