India should not drop Prithvi Shaw for the second Test despite his twin failures in the series opener in Adelaide says former Australia international Michael Hussey. Shaw is under-fire after he was dismissed in similar fashion in both the innings of the first Test that India went on to lose by eight wickets on Saturday.
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Shaw was out for a duck in the first innings while in the second, he mustered four being being bowled. There are calls for replacing him at the opening slot with either KL Rahul or newcomer Shubman Gill as India launch their comeback bid in the four-match series which they currently trail 0-1.
But Hussey is of a different view and reckons that India should have faith in the enormously talented Shaw by backing him they will only help him be more confident. Additionally, the pitch in Melbourne will be more batting-friendly which will be more conducive for the 21-year-old. "I think that selectors should show some faith in Prithvi Shaw. Yes, he didn't get any runs in this Test match but it's one Test, against some quality bowling of a difficult pitch to bat," Hussey told ESPNcricinfo. Hussey cited the example of Australia opener Joe Burns who struggled during the two warm-up matches against India and was dismissed cheaply in the first innings at Adelaide Oval too. However, he returned to form in the second dig with an attacking half-century. "Joe Burns was averaging less than seven in FC cricket. The selectors showed faith in him. He got out cheaply in the first innings but he slowly got his confidence back, worked his way through it and you see the character of the guy and he ended up scoring 50 not out," Hussey reasoned. Hussey, who scored over 12,000 runs across formats during his international career, feels that by sticking with Shaw the India selectors will give a strong message to other players as well. "For Prithvi Shaw, find out about his character. Show that faith in him, give him that belief and tell him 'look, we're backing you'. The Melbourne pitch will suit him a lot more. It certainly won't have the same pace and bounce. He's obviously got enormous talent," Hussey said. "What it does is that it sends a great message to the rest of the team. It's like 'Look guys, even if you have a bad Test here or there, we're not going to lose faith in you'. We know you're good players and we'll back you. I firmly believe that selectors should stick with Shaw despite not looking in great touch in the Test match," he added.