He could be in line for a Test debut against West Indies but Prithvi Shaw shouldn’t curb his attacking style of batsmanship provided he gets the nod, feels India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane.
“I am happy for Shaw. I have seen him since his young days, we used to practice together, he is an attacking opener and done well for India A and got the reward,” he said.
Rahane however didn’t commit on who among Prithvi and Mayank Agarwal will partner KL Rahul in the opening Test in Rajkot, starting from October 4.
“Personally we don’t know the combination what we are going to play. But there is no pressure, it is an opportunity for every individual to express ourselves. I wish him good luck and I am sure he will do well. I just want him to play as he has been doing for Mumbai and India A and I think he will be fine,” Rahane said.
“It is a good opportunity particularly for youngsters like Prithivi, Mayank and Siraj as they have all done well in domestic cricket. So as a batsman they can score runs, as a bowler they can pick wickets. It is all about going out there and giving your best without thinking much about future,” he added.
After a disappointing outing in England, Rahane lead Mumbai to victories over Baroda, Karnataka and Railways in the Vijay Hazare Trophy last month and he said it provided him good match practice ahead of the West Indies series.
“After coming back from England, I was just looking to do well for Mumbai at that point of time and get some match practice (although it was white ball cricket) ahead of the West Indies series. Vijay Hazare was a good match practice for me,” said Rahane.
India had failed to bring their best in English conditions, losing the five-Test series 1-4 last month.
“Here we have to see how the wicket behaves, it is hot, so we have to adapt to the conditions quickly during the practice sessions,” Rahane said.
“We know the Indian conditions and we know how to go about our job and what shots to play. England was different, so we will have to quickly mentally switch.
“Each and every match is equally important and we are just looking to play to our standards, rather than thinking about our opponents. It is important to start off well, we have two practice sessions before the Test match starts,” he added.
The 30-year-old Mumbaikar said the focus of the team is to improve its own game without thinking about their opponents.
