Daily Times

NEW DELHI: A slight kink in India opener Prithvi Shaw’s backlift technique is responsible for his struggles in the test series in Australia, says batting great Sachin Tendulkar. Shaw was dropped for the ongoing second Test in Melbourne after the 21-year-old managed scores of zero and four in Adelaide where India registered their lowest innings total (36) and were thrashed inside three days. “I feel it’s the backlift,” Tendulkar said on his YouTube channel of his fellow Mumbai player. “I feel his hands are moving away from his body, and then coming in. So, it’s a scoop, rather than a pendulum or a cradle, which goes in a straight line.” The curved arc of the bat makes Shaw particularly vulnerable to faster deliveries, said Tendulkar, who retired in 2013 as international cricket’s most prolific batsman. “When you’re scooping, you don’t get the timing right and you edge the ball either on the outer side or the inside. When you’re batting well your timing is going to be right, but when you’re not the straighter backlift helps.” Shaw, who scored a century on his Test debut against West Indies two years ago, may not get the chance to make amends for his Adelaide showing in the remainder of the series. Shubman Gill, replacing Shaw, scored a fluent 45 on his test debut in Melbourne, while opener Rohit Sharma, currently recovering from a hamstring injury, is expected to be fit for the third match in Sydney from Jan. 7.