Prithvi Shaw, the India opener and Delhi Capitals star, has signed a contract with Northamptonshire for the remainder of the English County season. Shaw will join the County side after the completion of the Duleep Trophy, where he is representing West Zone.
Shaw will play in both the County Championship and the Royal London One-Day Cup for Northamptonshire. He will become the fifth Indian player to feature in the 2022-23 County season, following Cheteshwar Pujara (Sussex), Ajinkya Rahane (Leicestershire), Arshdeep Singh (Kent), and Prasidh Krishna (Gloucestershire).
The stylish opener is one of the most exciting young talents in Indian cricket, having made his Test debut in 2018 at the age of 18 and scoring a century on his debut against West Indies. He has played 5 Tests so far, scoring 339 runs at an average of 42.37 with one century and two fifties.
However, Shaw has also faced some challenges in his career, including a doping ban in 2019, a loss of form and confidence in Australia in 2020-21, and being dropped from the Test squad for England in 2021. The 23-year-old has also been snubbed for the tour of West Indies which starts on July 12.
Shaw will hope to use his stint with Northamptonshire as an opportunity to regain his touch and rhythm in English conditions and stake a claim for a comeback to the national side. The U-19 World Cup winner has been in prolific form in recent times, scoring a career-best 379 off 383 balls in a Ranji Trophy match against Assam in January 2023.
Northamptonshire is currently placed tenth in Division One of the County Championship, having won just one and lost five out of their seven matches. They have seven more matches to play until the end of September. Shaw will add some firepower and flair to their batting line-up, which has struggled to score big runs this season. Shaw will also be available for the Royal London One-Day Cup, which starts on August 22 and runs till September 16.
