After missing the historic Test win in Australia, prodigious opener Prithvi Shaw on Monday said that he will be fit in time for the 2019 season of lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).
Shaw, 19, twisted his left ankle while attempting a catch during the third day of India's warm-up match against an Australian XI at Sydney November last year. It was heavily speculated that the teenager would be available for the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne but he ended up missing the entire tour.
"I will be fit before the Indian Premier League and I am trying hard to reach full fitness. I am working on my ankle as well as on my upper body," Shaw told 'India TV'.
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The Mumbai opener has been retained by Delhi Capitals for what will be his second season. The IPL starts on March 23. The full schedule is yet to be released.
Recalling the injury, he said, "We were playing the practice match in Sydney ahead of the first Test. I was standing at deep mid-wicket and Ash bhai (R Ashwin) was bowling and a catch came towards me. I caught the ball while jumping backwards in the air and my body weight fell on my left foot when I landed.
"It was a bit uneven there and my ankle got twisted 90 degrees and the entire body-weight fell on that. That's how it happened."
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Efforts were then on to get the batsman fit for the series but the severity of the injury dashed his hopes.
"I was trying hard to play in the second Test and the physios too were trying to get me fit for the match. However, the more they tried, the swelling increased and it got more painful.
"It was an unfortunate incident and you can't really do anything about that. It was my wish to play in the challenging conditions in Australia. I love the bounce there. But unfortunately, I suffered a leg injury. But that's okay, I am very happy that India won the Test series. It can't get better than this.
"I got full support of the team at that time because I was very disappointed with the injury. I had practised hard for the tour and had many things in my mind that I thought I would do there. So, it was disheartening. But yeah, now I am happy that we won the series."
Shaw has had a record-breaking start to his Test career as he aggregated 237 runs in three innings at an average of 118.50 against the West Indies.
(With PTI inputs)
