Kevin Pietersen has offered a candid advice to Indian cricketer Prithvi Shaw, who is currently facing significant challenges in his career.
Unsold in IPL 2025 auction, struggle with the bat in SMAT 2024/25
Shaw, once hailed as a prodigious talent after leading India’s U-19 team to World Cup glory in 2018, has seen his career take a downturn. At just 25 years old, he went unsold in the IPL 2025 mega auction, despite setting a base price of ₹75 lakh. This lack of interest from franchises has raised serious questions about his future in the sport.
Kevin Pietersen’s advice for Prithvi Shaw
In his post on X (formerly Twitter), Pietersen highlighted that Shaw’s off-field behaviour, particularly his engagement with social media, could be detrimental to his performance on the field. He stated that if Shaw had supportive individuals around him, they would advise him to “get off social media and train his absolute backside off” to regain his fitness and focus on cricket.
The former cricketer pointed out that comeback stories are often the most compelling in sports. He urged Shaw to channel his energies into rigorous training, believing that this would help him return to the path of success he once enjoyed. Pietersen expressed concern that Shaw is “too talented to throw it all away,” and encouraged him to surround himself with people who genuinely care about his long-term success.
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“Some of the greatest sports stories are COMEBACK stories. If Prithvi Shaw has decent people around him who care about his long term success, they’d sit him down, tell him to get off social media & train his absolute backside off in getting super fit. It’ll get him back into the correct path where past success can return. Too talented to throw it all away. Love, KP!” tweeted Pietersen.
Some of the greatest sports stories are COMEBACK stories.
If Prithvi Shaw has decent people around him who care about his long term success, they’d sit him down, tell him to get off social media & train his absolute backside off in getting super fit. It’ll get him back into the…— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) December 3, 2024
Shaw’s recent performances have been lacklustre; he was dropped from Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy team due to fitness issues and has struggled in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT 2024), where he recorded a duck in one of his matches. His last appearance for the Indian national team was back in July 2021, highlighting a significant gap in his international career.