Gavaskar Settles Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan’s ‘Weight and Shape’ Debate

Gavaskar on Prithvi Shaw body fat

Gavaskar Settles Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan: Prithvi Shaw is in the eye of the storm again after being left out of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy team, but the Indian World Cup winner has got some backing from none other than Sunil Gavaskar. Shaw’s snub is reportedly due to two reasons – his weight which is believed to be over 35% and incidents of indiscipline which are yet to be revealed publicly.

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Gavaskar, the former India captain, however, feels that weight should not be the reason for a cricketer’s omission, let alone when a player is of Shaw’s calibre. He may not be in the best of forms at the moment but this is the same player who scored a century on Test debut for India and had his moments. Being left out for disciplinary reasons is one thing but ‘weight and shape’ should be the last reason for Shaw’s India snub, feels the first man to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket.

"Speaking of domestic matches, defending Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai have dropped Prithvi Shaw from their team that is currently in Tripura. There have been mixed reports about his omission from the Ranji team. If it's about his attitude, approach and discipline, then it’s understandable, but hopefully, it has nothing to do with his weight, as one report seems to have suggested. That report suggested that he had 35 per cent more body fat," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

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Shaw’s career is at a low ebb. Back after a long injury layoff, Shaw has scored just one fifty-plus score from 15 innings since August. His fitness and form is a concern and he is likely to be released by Delhi Capitals before IPL 2025 auction. Last played for India in July 2021, Shaw is not in the running to play for India again.

The clincher for Gavaskar’s argument is what another Mumbai batsman is doing for Team India. Sarfaraz Khan, not the leanest of players, just a couple of weeks ago, sizzled for India in the first Test against New Zealand, scoring a 150 in the second innings of the Bengaluru game. If Sarfaraz’s physique is not preventing Team India from giving him chances, why not Shaw?

"We have seen in the previous Test in Bengaluru how another player Sarfaraz Khan, whose weight and shape have also been discussed in the public domain, played a scintillating innings of 150, showing that it is not the shape or the size of your waist that determines cricket fitness. It's whether you can score 150-plus runs and that too bat for a whole day or bowl 20-plus overs in a day. That should be the only criteria of a player’s fitness. By the way, how many players with zero per cent or minimal body fat have scored 379 like Prithvi Shaw? I rest my case about fitness," added Gavaskar.

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