The 16th season of the Indian T20 League (ITL) is just days away. The franchises have started their preparations, and several updates have heated the build-up to the coveted franchise T20 League. As such, the camaraderie between Delhi head coach Ricky Ponting and young opening batter Prithvi Shaw has gained much traction.
In a recent viral photo of the two, Prithvi Shaw is seen hugging Ponting from the back. However, Shaw's cap that says 'Dead Inside' grabbed the most attention. Notably, Shaw has been the subject of controversies off the field recently, the selfie saga with the influencer Sapna Gill being the most famous of them all.
"I think we are going to see the real Prithvi Shaw this season'- Ricky Ponting
Earlier, Ricky Ponting made hopeful statements about the out-of-luck Prithvi Shaw's return to competitive cricket with the Indian T20 League. "I think we are going to see the real Prithvi Shaw this season," Ponting said. "He's in a better physical shape than I've ever seen him before. I spoke to him the other day about his attitude, the way he's working, and how things are going. I honestly feel that this is going to be his biggest season in the ITL. He just has that different look in his eye this year. You can see he's hungrier than ever," Ponting added.
"It just seems to me that this season, something has really clicked with Prithvi. I actually said to him at the end of the training two days ago, 'This game, if you don't pay full attention to it, it'll take away from you. But if you put in the hard yards, it will give back to you all the time.' That's why I feel that this could be a really big year for him," the Aussie Legend added.
Delhi will kick off their ITL campaign against KL Rahul-led Lucknow in an away game on April 1 at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
Here's how fans reacted to the viral photo of Ponting and Shaw:
Nashe mei lag rha hai
— Cricket Fan 07 (@Manas_pr_sharma) March 29, 2023
Sai Baba looking after him
— F#4 (@Revived_CAT) March 29, 2023
Stay strong Prithvi 💪
— Rakshit 🇮🇳 (@imrj2001) March 29, 2023
Us bhai us
— Anishaaaa🥂 (@Anishaaaa_1) March 29, 2023
— PsyCho $8 (@i2ntcare) March 29, 2023
Galat बाबा chose karega to yahi hoga 🤣
— BARLIN👿 (@kohlifanboy83) March 29, 2023
Sai Baba sab dekh rahe hain Prithvi🙂 pic.twitter.com/xvdqHyx1N3
— Bruce Wayne (@GothamSaviourMe) March 29, 2023
Another Talent which never get shaped 😌
— Aditya Rajput (@Aditya240606) March 29, 2023
Hope BCCI will think on 3 different teams for 3 different formats