Cricket: 'Dad and I responsible for it' - Prithvi Shaw opens up about the eight-month doping ban
Story highlights
Prithvi Shaw has opened up about the toughest phase of his career and how he dealt with the poor run of form while also highlighting how the cough syrup episode took place.
Young Indian batsman Prithvi Shaw had a tremendous rise in international cricket as he smashed his maiden Test ton against the West Indies in his debut match for India in 2018. Shaw went on to suffer an ankle injury during the Australia tour and witnessed a dip in form. The youngster also tested positive for a banned substance and was handed an eight-month ban under anti-doping guidelines.
Shaw opened up about the toughest phase of his career and how he dealt with the poor run of form while also highlighting how the cough syrup episode took place.
“Till New Zealand tour I was in a happy space. Basically, I was feeling okay, and then I did decently in IPL too in 2020. 2018-19 Australia series was something I was really looking forward to. And then suddenly this ankle injury happened. The physios and team management were trying to keep me ready for the third Test, but the recovery progress stopped after a point. I was in a lot of pain, and was really sad. But these sort of things keep happening, and this is what the players and support staff tried to explain me,” Shaw told Cricbuzz.
Shaw said that he and his father are responsible for the cough syrup fiasco as he accepted that he was wrong in not consulting the team physio before gulping down the cough syrup which his father brought from the market.
“After I came back, I started my treatment, and played the IPL. But then this cough syrup controversy came up. I think dad and I are responsible for it. I remember we were playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Indore and I was down with cold and cough at that time. So I had gone out for dinner and was coughing a lot. So I spoke to my dad. He asked me to take the cough syrup available in market. What I did wrong was did not consult the physio, which was wrong on my part.
“I took that syrup for two days, and on the third day I had my dope test. So that’s when I was detected positive for a banned substance. That was a really difficult phase for me, and can’t even express in words. I was worried about my image, and what would people think about me. That is when I went for London, to stay away from all this. There too, I didn’t step out of my room much.”
ALSO READ: 'Positive sign for Indian cricket': Salman Butt lauds Wriddhiman Saha's approach on Rishabh Pant
Shaw went on to make a comeback in 2021 after going through a tough patch. He emerged the highest run-scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and was the second-highest run-scorer for Delhi Capitals in the postponed Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.