Prithvi Shaw needs to get his work ethics right, we can't babysit anyone: Shreyas Iyer

Mumbai captain Shreyas Iyer has urged teammate Prithvi Shaw to improve his work ethic as the young cricketer continues to struggle for form. Only 25, Shaw recently went unsold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction due to concerns regarding his work ethic and poor form. The India batter, who made a hundred on his Test debut in 2018 but has only played 12 international matches in the last six years, was also recently dropped from the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team during the first leg.

He returned to the side during the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) as Mumbai won the tournament by beating Madhya Pradesh in the final. Playing in all nine matches, Shaw scored 197 runs with a strike rate of 156.34. He had a highest score of 49.

‘Shaw needs to get his work ethics right’

Reflecting on Shaw’s recent struggles, Iyer said he needs to get his work ethic right, and then the sky is the limit for the opener.

“He needs to get his work ethics right, and if he does that, the sky is the limit for him,” Iyer said. “We can’t babysit anyone, right? Every professional who is playing at this level, they need to know what they should be doing.”

“And he has also done it in the past; it’s not that he hasn’t. He has to focus, he has to sit back, [and] put a thinking cap on, and then figure out himself. He will get the answer by himself.”

Recently, former cricketers Kevin Pietersen and Shane Watson also shared a message of support for Shaw on social media. KP asked friends of Shaw to put him back on the correct path.

“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!,” Pietersen wrote on X.

Watson also shared a similar sentiment .