Down on fitness and form, the Thane-born cricket Prithwi Shaw is experiencing one of the worst lows in his professional cricketing career. Seen and adored as someone who could fill in the shoes of the great Sachin Tendulkar, Shaw has lost his legacy as a specialist batsman and has faded away from the international area due to his poor form.

Shaw has had to deal with multiple exclusions off late. Shaw was last seen in Indian colors in July 2021 and has since then been left out of the Indian squad. Moreover, the 24-year-old has also been axed from his local Ranji team Mumbai along fitness and disciplinary lines.    

Greg Chappell offers some words of encouragement to the youngster 

In the face of acute adversary, former Australia player and coach Greg Chappell comes out in support of the talented youngster. In an open letter, Chappell advised Shaw to keep his spirits high in these testing times. 

Furthermore, Chappell stressed on the positive aspect of getting dropped. The Aussie legend went on to quote examples of himself and Don Bradman and how they were dropped in multiple phases of their career which helped them come back stronger.

"Hi Prithvi, I understand you’re facing a challenging time right now, being out of the Mumbai team. It’s natural to feel frustrated and perhaps a bit uncertain, but I want you to know that these moments are often the turning points for athletes, helping to shape both their careers and their character. Remember, setbacks are a part of every great athlete’s story. Even legends like Don Bradman experienced being dropped and having to fight their way back. What made them great was not avoiding challenges, but how they responded to them."

Chappell's own perspective on Shaw

Chappell has been observing Shaw since his U-19 playing days. Under Shaw's leadership, India went on to win the 2018 U-19 World Cup and on the back of some impressive performances in that tournament, Shaw was selected to make his Test debut against West Indies that year. Chappell urges the youngster to delve deep into self-introspection and not try to back away from facing challenges. The Aussie legend himself faced numerous setbacks in his playing days but learned to take corrective measures to rectify the shortcomings. He expects Shaw to review every aspect of his game and work on his attitude and resilience. 

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Cricket is frequently regarded as a religion in India and is far more popular than any other sport, with fans eager to see their favourite players perform well. In the past, fans saw several players involved in issues that shook the cricket community and became global discussion points.

Cricket history has witnessed several incidents involving foreign and domestic players, shaking the sport and becoming a hot topic among millions of cricket fans. Indian cricketers have also been involved in various similar confrontations and scandals. On that point, let us look at the top five controversies in Indian cricket history.

The 2000 Match-fixing story

The match-fixing incident of 2000 shocked the whole cricketing community. The incident occurred during the South African team’s 2000 tour to India when Delhi police overheard a conversation between a bookmaker and Proteas captain Hansie Cronje while listening to criminal discussions. The theme of the talk was match-fixing.

Much to the amazement of the cricketing community, Delhi Police filed a case against Cronje, who later denied the claims. Later, the South African cricket authority established the King’s Commission to investigate, and prominent figures such as the then-Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin, Manoj Prabhakar, and famed all-rounder Ajay Jadeja were added to the match-fixing list. According to a dossier presented by the CBI, Mohammad Azharuddin also introduced former South African captain Hansie Cronje to a gang of bookmakers.

Greg Chappell vs Sourav Ganguly

Greg Chappell and Sourav Ganguly had the worst captain-coach conflict in Indian cricket history, and it was undoubtedly one of the worst in Indian cricket textbooks. It all began during India’s tour of Zimbabwe when Chappell urged that Ganguly be dismissed from the Indian test team. He also claimed that Ganguly is neither psychologically or physically prepared to head the Indian squad. Ganguly also criticised himself for recommending Greg Chappell as India’s coach.

Following the Zimbabwe trip, the leading selectors decided to remove Ganguly as captain, and he was eventually sacked from the ODI team as well. The decision to drop Ganguly from the Indian team did not go well with Indian supporters, who burned Chappell’s effigies and protested on the streets. His notorious tenure as Indian head coach ended when the Men in Blue were eliminated from the 2007 World Cup in the group round.

The Monkeygate Incident: Harbhajan Singh vs Andrew Symonds

The controversial clash between India’s reliable spinner, Harbhajan Singh and Australia’s top all-rounder, Andrew Symonds, a.k.a, the Monkeygate incident, occurred during India’s 2008 tour of Australia and is regarded as one of the most significant scandals in Indian cricket history.

The incident saw a confrontation between Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds during the second match at Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia. It reached the point where the tourists chose to withdraw from the trip before the ICC constituted a disciplinary committee to investigate the situation. Next, the committee’s investigation, Harbhajan Singh’s three-match Test suspension was removed, and India won the next Test match.

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IPL & Spot-fixing

This controversy shocked millions of cricket fans in India after learning that the Indian Premier League 2013 season had been tarnished by spot-fixing and betting events. Two well-known IPL franchises, the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals, were banned for two years in a row due to their involvement in the betting scam.

On the other hand, the Delhi Police detained three Rajasthan Royals players, S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan, for spot-fixing accusations in the IPL. The team’s owners, Raj Kundra and Gurunath Meiyappan, were arrested, and both CSK and RR franchises were suspended for two years. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) closely checks the competition to ensure no such disputes arise.

Virat Kohli vs Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble’s dismissal as head coach of the Indian cricket team in 2017 remains one of the most contentious issues in Indian cricket. Following India’s defeat against Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final, Kumble was sacked as the team’s head coach. Kumble was asked to resign after only one year as the team’s head coach.

At the time, various publications highlighted conflicts between Kohli and Kumble as the primary cause for his dismissal as head coach. The captain and head coach were apparently at odds, which resulted in the dramatic firing. According to reports, Kohli was contacted when the authorities decided to extend the coach’s employment, but he stated that Kumble’s tutoring made junior players feel “intimidated”.

Virender Sehwag, the swaggering former Indian opening batsman, is considered one of the greatest entertainers in cricket history. His destructive batting style and fearless approach raise his fan following all around the world. But like every cricketer, Shewag’s career also has its ups and downs, and one of the most tumultuous periods in his career was during his time as a member of the Indian Cricket team under coach Greg Chappell.

However, Sehwag was seen as the natural successor to Sourav Ganguly as the captain of team India Cricket team

Sehwag had already proven himself as a great leader, having led India to a test series victory over South Africa in 2005. But things started to collapse and unravel under Chappell’s coaching.

Chappell, who was a former Australian cricketer, was known for his aggressive and disruptive coaching style. Even he was not afraid to make big changes and shake up the team without any hesitation. 

And this often led to clashes between players and other members of the coaching staff. Sehwag, who had been a crucial part of the team under Ganguly, found himself struggling under Chappell’s leadership.

In an interview, Sehwag opens up his mouth about the difficulties he faced during Chappell’s period. He stated that Chappell forced him to change his batting style and play in a defensive way. Sehwag who is attacking in nature is more difficult to play defensively. And Sehwag also found it difficult for him to adapt to the new playing style. He also adds that Chappell does not care about Sehwag’s concerns and doesn’t provide back support which he needed to succeed.

As a result, Sehwag struggled on the field and this led to his being dropped from the team. He said that this was the bad phase of his cricket career and he felt that he lost his fan support. But he also that this experience helps him a lot and helped him to become a great long-time player for team India.

Quite apart from his difficulties, Sehwag persisted in working hard and raising his level of play.  He also added at last foreign coaches may not be the best option for team India. 

“I have always believed that in our country, we have good coaches who can manage the Indian team. Hence, we don’t need foreign coaches. But when I was playing, I asked this question to my seniors ‘Why do we need another foreign coach after John Wright?’. All of them, who had spent a lot of time with Indian coaches, said that Indian coaches at times get biassed towards players – some become favourites and those who don’t are pushed at the end of the line. So when a foreign coach comes, he will look at them differently. But to be honest, even a foreign coach can feel the pressure of dealing with a Tendulkar or a Dravid or a Ganguly or a Laxman,”

Sehwag said.

Batting great Greg Chappell believes Australia can win the upcoming high-profile four-match Test series as India are “vulnerable” this time with injuries to key players like Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah. While the swashbuckling keeper-batter Pant is ruled out for most part of the year as he continues to recover from injuries sustained during a horrific car crash, Indian pace ace Bumrah (back injury) does not figure in the Indian squad for the first two Tests.

“Australia can win this series. They are more vulnerable at home than they have been for some time due to injuries to key players like Rishbah Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah. They will rely heavily on Virat Kohli,” Chappell wrote in an opinion piece for ‘Sydney Morning Herald’. Premier spin-bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who recovered from a knee injury and made a comeback in the Ranji Trophy last month, is in the Indian squad for the Test series beginning in Nagpur on Thursday.

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India needs to work hard to fill gaps against experienced Australian Side

“Visiting teams are often fooled by a game that seems to be going nowhere but suddenly changes at a frenetic pace. The Indians are used to this, so Australia will need to adapt quickly with mind, bat and ball,” said the former India coach. Finger spinner Ashton Agar, who is Australia’s only lef-tarm tweaker in the squad, should be preferred to partner Nathan Lyon on turning tracks, Chappell said.

“Should the pitches favour spin, which is more likely, I expect Ashton Agar to get the nod because finger spin is considered to be more accurate,” said the 74-year-old Chappell who scored 7110 runs from 87 Tests with an impressive average of 53.86 between 1970 and 1984. “Agar has got to emulate their roles. One bowler leaking runs will be the difference in a tight contest.” Recollecting his conversation with Erapalli Prasanna, he wrote the Indian legend would spin the ball hard, try to hit the batter on the pads often, get him thinking about the spinning ball, and then trap him on the crease with a straight one.