Prithvi Shaw finally made his much-awaited return to competitive cricket on Sunday while playing for Mumbai against Assam in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The ban imposed on him for violating the doping rules ended on Friday this week and Mumbai did not waste any time in including the player in their playing eleven.

Prithvi Shaw was slapped with the ban in July for inadvertently ingesting a prohibited substance which can be commonly found in cough syrups. The Mumbai star had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI’s anti-doping testing program during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match on 22nd February 2019 in Indore. His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain a Terbutaline.

The substance is prohibited both In & Out of Competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substances. The back-dated ban came into effect from March 2019 and thus ended this month. Shaw, meanwhile, hit the ground running on his return as he scored a cracking fifty. The 20-year old slammed 63 from just 39 balls to make it clear that he means business.

He reached his fifty off just 32 balls and added 138 runs with fellow opener Aditya Tare. The stand came to an end when Riyan Parag dismissed Tare for 82. Parag then went on to dismiss Shaw too. Shaw’s 63-run knock was studded with seven fours and a couple of sixes.

Meanwhile, India head coach Vikram Rathour has said that Shaw will have to work hard to return to the Indian team. Rathour said the 20-year old’s reintegration into the national team will depend on how he shapes up post his doping suspension and a host of “other factors”.

“Getting back into the team will be the selectors’ decision. As far as team management is concerned, I think he’s a phenomenal player. So let’s see how it goes, how he shapes up after the suspension,” said Rathour on Saturday.