Of Riches & Ruins: Vinod Kambli Failed At Redemption; Will Prithvi Shaw Succeed?

No success is final, no fall is final either. Great sports stories are about fall, redemption and heart-warming comeback. Will Prithvi Shaw stage a recovery act for the ages? The cricket fraternity awaits that, so do his adorers on the stands.

He was the next wonder in Indian cricket after Sachin Tendulkar. Biggies of international cricket could not stop gushing about him. Amid a large pool of impressive young cricketers he stood apart. Others were talented; Prithvi Shaw was gifted. The Under-19 World Cup win as skipper and a blistering century on debut against the West Indies at the age of 18 confirmed he was no ordinary player. He was set for a bright career. Then came recklessness and fall. He squandered it all.

The glitz and glamour accompanying sudden wealth messed up his mind and his career went on a downward spiral. Injury played a role in dragging him down, but it was more about wrong choices in life. He went unsold in the IPL 2025 auctions, even at a base price of Rs 75 lakh. Worse, no franchise bid for him. His India career is all but over. And he is only 25. Prithvi Shaw’s case is devastating. It is also a life lesson for all sportsmen aspiring to be successful and rich.

There was a parallel case decades ago. Vinod Kambli, considered equally gifted as Sachin, began his career with aplomb. After scores of 224 and 227 in his debut year, nothing could have gone wrong with him. Or so it seemed. He quickly walked into the trap of extravagance and alcoholism. His career as well as life plummeted. He spurned good advice and stayed with his self-destructive indulgences. In and out of de-addiction facilities 14 times already and family life in irredeemable trouble, he is a mental and physical wreck now, an object of pity.

Prithvi Shaw could be headed the same way. His childhood coach Santosh Pingulkar blames the fall of Shaw on his new social circle. After success and money he distanced himself from people in the cricket circle he had grown with and walked into the company of filmy people, he said in an interview with My Khel. These friends could not offer him good advice on his game and career, he added. Praveen Amre, the mentor of Prithvi Shaw who played a crucial role in his grooming as a cricketer and entry into the Delhi Capitals franchise, says Prithvi’s example can be a case study in Indian cricket. When you earn so much at such a young age, you tend to lose focus, he said in an interview.

Vinod Kambli never recovered. He never summoned the will and determination that earned him success to fight back to control life and emerge better. Finally he lost the battle with his indulgences. Prithvi Shaw, one hopes, does not lose the fight in him. Cricket legend Kevin Pietersen has some useful words for him. ‘”Some of the greatest sports stories are COMEBACK stories. 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.”

It’s up to Prithvi now to summon courage. The time, goes a saying, when there’s nobody to feel sorry for you or to cheer you is when a player is made. He should reach out to the player in him. Yes, no fall is final like no success is. He should realise that.

(By arrangements with Perspective Bytes)