Dejected Prithvi Shaw laments 'what more do I have to see?' after snub from Mumbai's Vijay Hazare squad

Prithvi Shaw laments 'what more do I have to see?' after snub from Mumbai's Vijay Hazare squad

Out-of-favour India opener Prithvi Shaw was on Tuesday dropped from Mumbai's squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy as his fortunes continued to nosedive, forcing the beleaguered player to ask "what more do I have to see?" The tournament begins on December 21. The 25-year-old, who scored a hundred on Test debut, has had a season to forget. He was dropped in the middle of Ranji Trophy league stage on fitness and disciplinary grounds, before returning for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) that Mumbai won. He also went unsold at the IPL auction in November. His performance in the premier domestic event was not eye-catching but he did make a couple of 40s and as many 30s over the course of the event.

"Tell me God, what more do I have to see? If 65 innings, 3399 runs at an average of 55.7 with a strike rate of 126 (in Vijay Hazare), I'm not good enough. But I will keep my faith in you and, hopefully, people still believe in me, because I will come back for sure. Om Sai Ram," Shaw wrote in his Instagram story.

Shreyas Iyer will captain the 17-man squad picked for the first three games. Following the SMAT, Iyer had said sky was the limit for Shaw if he worked on his work ethics. “I think personally he is a God gifted player. The amount of talent he possesses as an individual, no one has it. It's just that he needs to improve his work ethics,” said Iyer after Mumbai’s 5-wicket win over Madhya Pradesh in the SMAT final. “He needs to get his work ethics right. And if he does that, sky's the limit for him,” he added.

However, Iyer said the desire to embrace redemption should stem within Shaw himself. “We can't babysit anyone, right? He has played so much of cricket. Everyone has given him inputs. At the end of the day, it’s his job to figure out things for himself. And he has also done it in the past. It's not that he hasn’t,” he said.

Detailing his point, Iyer said: “He has to focus. He has to sit back, put a thinking cap on. He will get the answer by himself. No one can force him to do anything.”

Other names missing

Ajinkya Rahane, who was the star batter for Mumbai in SMAT, had captained the 50-over side last season. Veteran spinner Shams Mulani also doesn't feature in the squad alongside Shaw.

Mumbai open their campaign against Karnataka in Ahmedabad on December 21.

Squad: Shreyas lyer (Captain), Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Jay Bista, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Siddhesh Lad, Hardik Tamore, Prasad Pawar (WK), Atharva Ankolekar, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur, Royston Dias, Juned Khan, Harsh Tanna, Vinayak Bhor.