With the Indian Premier League just three days away, all the eight franchises of the tournament look to settle in with the month and a half-long schedule full of unprecedented rules and regulations put up the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

One of the biggest talking points ahead of the season however comes from previous year’s runners-up - the Delhi Capitals franchise, and the plethora of batting talent that they will be entering the league with in order to complete what they couldn’t back in the United Arab Emirates in 2020.

And in order to finally be able to win an IPL trophy, the team needs its top-order batsman Prithvi Shaw to put up a show, give them a firing start in every innings, and set them on the right course towards victory.

Struggling to perform across all platforms of the game back in 2020, Shaw finally found his stride during the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy when he became the highest-scoring individual in a season in the history of the tournament and lead Team Mumbai to championship glory.

During his time as a member of DC, Shaw will only get to evolve his game under the excellent mentorship of the legendary Australian captain of his time in Ricky Ponting, who has studied, and analysed Shaw’s strengths and weaknesses and knows exactly how to train him.

Exactly how much does Ponting know Shaw’s game? Consider this video of Ponting breaking down Shaw’s batting flaw a ball before he got dismissed in Adelaide back in 2020, as proof:

"If he does have a chink in his armour it's the ball which does come back into him...

"Quite often leaves a big gap between bat and pad and that's where the Aussies will target." @RickyPonting at his peerless best for the Prithvi Shaw wicket #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/4nh67zBcpU

Nonetheless, Ponting has been nothing but kind, understanding, and a brilliant coach to the youngster and as it turns out, Shaw has also developed quite the liking for the Aussie veteran. His motivational speeches, his way of training and his overall charisma make Shaw adore his guru to the core.

In a recent interview with the Delhi Capitals Website, Shaw even opened up about how it feels to play for Ricky Ponting, and here’s what he said: 

"Ricky Ponting is a very nice person - on the field he is like a boss and off the field he is like a friend. I am very happy to see him back and I think when Ricky sir speaks we should have a background song of Chak De India".

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