Venkatesh Prasad is quite famous for that one delivery in the 1997 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan. It wasn’t his dismissal of Aamir Sohail that is still remembered but his send-off of Aamir Sohail that is still talked about. Whenever, visuals of that video is seen, an Indian sort of gets goosebumps because of the sheer bloodymindedness of that single act. India at that point weren’t winning too many games against Pakistan and to win that game in a World Cup was made really sweet because of Prasad’s one hilarious act. He was eventually forgotten but thanks for the struggle of Rahul, he is back in the news. The Venkatesh Prasad Rahul spat.
Anyone who has been watching Rahul bat will never be able to understand why he is still in the team. The failures are galore and yet, he somehow retains his spot at the top of the order. If only Rahul had been a middle-order batsman, his continuous non-performance could have been absorbed but he is an opener entrusted with giving the team a decent start. Invariably, India goes into every innings with one down because of the confidence that Rahul anyway will get out anytime.
Venkatesh Prasad on Twitter
Prasad on Twitter has laid into the non-performance of Rahul. It is pretty rare in Indian cricket to see a fellow cricketer, criticise someone from the same state. You will not see a Mumbai cricketer criticise someone from his state. Nor someone from Delhi. For some reason, perhaps because of the fact that they know each other for sometime and will have to converse, it is restricted players from commenting about their state-mate. Not Prasad. The fact that he has directed his criticism on his own state player, irrespective of whether he is friendly with him or otherwise, shows that his heart is in the right place.
Prasad cares about India winning. It does not really matter who plays that winning hand. It could be a bowler or it could be a batsman. The ultimate aim is always for India to win. There are certain lambs who may prevent the team from winning because they are simply incapable of going upto the next level. Such players must be shown their way. He maybe talented with potential but none of that comes near to performance. Which is what Rahul lacks.
“I have a lot of regard for KL Rahul’s talent and ability, but sadly his performances have been well below par. A test average of 34 after 46 tests and more than 8 years in international cricket is ordinary. Can’t think of many who have been given so many chances
“There is a view that KL Rahul has an outstanding overseas Test record. But stats speak otherwise. He has a test avg of 30 overseas in 56 innings. He has scored 6 overseas centuries but followed it up with a string of low scores. That’s why he is averaging 30. Let’s look at a few others,” Venkatesh Prasad wrote.
Some of Rahul’s supporters
There are quite a few and it really is surprising, who support Rahul. The likes of Harbhajan Singh, Aakash Chopra to name a few. I do not know about Harbhajan but Aakash Chopra is part of the commentary team. Is he afraid to call a spade a spade because he will lose his job?
If that is the case, it really is a shame but one can understand. Afterall, Aakash will have to earn from somewhere to carry on with his life. He did not have a long career with India nor has he played in IPL. Hence, he would not have made much money. BCCI is very strict that none of the commentator must pass any comment on the team selection, the board or any of the player. Else, they will be chucked out. Take the case of Harsha Bhogle who questioned Dhoni or Manjrekar who passed a lame comment about Jadeja. He had to beg to the board to allow him on the commentary panel. It is another story that Jadeja has become what he is now because of the comment by Manjrekar.
Aakash Chopra laments about Rahul’s performance outside of India and especially in SENA countries. He has scored a couple of 100s and a couple of 50s. Both the hundreds resulted in India winning the Test. Which is true but how many times have we struggled because of Rahul’s lack of runs? At Edgbaston in 2021, in the absence of Rohit, Rahul was expected to shoulder more responsibility but he didn’t. After the 100 against South Africa, he didn’t do anything in the remaining games and that includes captaincy.
One crucial fact overlooked
The point is that the supporters of Rahul are overlooking one crucial fact that it is not just Test cricket where he is a liability but in white-ball cricket too. India’s dated approach in ODIs and T20s is directly related of Rahul. He is intent to stay at the wicket rather than score runs. Ofcourse, if the opposition is weak, he will launch into them. How many times has he given a bright and quick start? It is negligible. How many times have India failed to post a competitive score or failed to chase a formidable score? That is far too many. On a pitch where Buttler and Hales created mayhem, Rahul prodded along and as a result others were forced to take higher risks. India ended up with a below par total.
Wrapping up the Venkatesh Prasad Rahul spat
To Rahul’s credit I must say that he hasn’t responded to Prasad. However, it goes without saying that he is a liability in the team. There are far too many who can replace him. Shubman Gill for starter. He is in excellent form and if denied now, India do not play another Test for atleast 6 months. Gill may lose form and these supporters will tweet I told you so.
As I have often said and written, Rahul is good ODI cricketer but only in the middle order. He is an absolute misfit as an opener in any format. The sooner this fact syncs in the minds of the team management, the better it will be for India.
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