Shreyas Iyer’s instructions to Prithvi Shaw are loud and clear. Mumbai added yet another title to their domestic resume, as Shreyas Iyer captained the team to Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy honours with a 5-wicket win over Madhya Pradesh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Mumbai had plenty of star names and firepower, with Indian internationals such as Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shivam Dube populating the batting order.
Speaking to reporters after the final, Iyer was asked about his current Mumbai and former Delhi Capitals teammate Prithvi Shaw. Shaw only managed 197 runs in 9 innings in the tournament, but this included a crucial rapid-fire 49 in the quarterfinal against Vidarbha to help Mumbai progress. Recently, Shaw also went unsold in the IPL mega auction. “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 following the match. Shaw has often been criticised for his inability to knuckle down and provide consistency despite the raw talent at his disposal. “He needs to get his work ethics right. And if he does that, sky’s the limit for him,” continued Iyer. The pair shared a dressing room for the Delhi Capitals for four years, some of the franchise’s most successful as Iyer guided them to their first final and three consecutive playoff appearances. However, recent concerns regarding Shaw’s discipline and lifestyle meant that his stocks have dropped, leading to no IPL team picking him in the 2025 auction, which was one of the more glaring omissions.
Shreyas tells Shaw to ‘focus’
Iyer, who went on to captain KKR to the IPL title in 2024, spoke about what Shaw needs to do to return to that level, with age still on the 25-year-old’s side. His Mumbai captain was blunt and up-front about expectations. “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,” said the Indian international. “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.”
Speaking about Mumbai’s stock of young up-and-coming talent, Shreyas Iyer added, “All the youngsters who have come up and the way they showcase their talent is simply phenomenal. You should see their character and their approach outside the dressing room and also on the field. They’re fearless in their approach, and this is the kind of players we need to back.” One of these was Shubham Shedge, who was a strong performer throughout the tournament and the hero for Mumbai in the final as he finished off the innings with 36* off just 15 deliveries.
