Prithvi Shaw shouldn’t be compared with Virender Sehwag, says Gautam Gambhir

Out-of-favour Indian opener Gautam Gambhir said that comparisons cannot be drawn between the likes of Virender Sehwag with the young Prithvi Shaw, who recently had a memorable debut Test match against the West Indies.

Shaw replaced Shikhar Dhawan in the team and scored a classy 134 in the first and only innings that India batted as the hosts amassed a mammoth 649/9 in the first innings.

“He has just started his career and there is a long way to go. I have never believed in comparisons. He has his individuality and Sehwag has his own. He has just played one match and Sehwag has played around 100 Tests,” Gambhir, as quoted by Deccan Chronicle, said.

The Delhi batsman further said that tougher Tests await the youngster.

“Prithvi’s very talented and that’s why he is there in the team. He has started off his test career on a very good note but there will be far bigger and far difficult challenges waiting for him,” he added.

One of India’s toughest challenges awaits them in December this year when they travel to Australia for playing four Tests, three ODIs and a similar number of T20IS. The veteran Indian opener said that the start provided by the openers would be important for India’s success in Australia.

The Indian openers failed to fire miserably in the Test series in England and it was left on the middle-order to score the bulk of the runs.

Said Gambhir, “It is important for openers to succeed in Australia because that is the department where India struggled during the England tour. There were not enough opening partnerships. If you want to succeed overseas, you need a good platform.”

Also read: Prithvi Shaw shouldn’t be compared with ‘genius’ Virender Sehwag: Sourav Ganguly

“It is got to be a challenge (in Australia). We talk about the batting because they don’t have Smith and Warner but they still have formidable batting in their backyard. They have really exciting players like Shaun Marsh or Aaron Finch. Plus they have the bowling attack to hurt any opposition. They have the best off-spinner in the world right now. It will not be a cakewalk. Playing Australia in Australia will be a threat,” he elaborated.

A veteran of 58 Test matches where he has scored 4,154 runs, Gambhir further said that India needed to reach Australia a month prior to the Test series in order to get acquainted with the conditions.

“England manage to win in Australia because they went one month early. They played three or four warm-up matches. If you are going overseas, your bowlers should have bowled 80 or 100 overs so your body gets used to it. If you go to Australia and playing against Mitchell Stark and Pat Cummins, you have to be ready,” he said.

Image credit- DNA India