Rahul’s selection in Test team based on bias: Venkatesh Prasad
Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad came down heavily on KL Rahul, saying his selection for the first Test against Australia in Nagpur was based on “favouritism”. India defeated Australia in this match by an innings and 132 runs on the third day itself. For this match, 30-year-old Rahul was given priority over the in-form Shubman Gill. Rahul played a fighting innings of 20 off 71 balls in India’s first innings.
Prasad wrote on his verified Twitter handle, “Rahul was not selected on the basis of favoritism but on the basis of performance. There has been a consistent lack of consistency in his performances and this has been going on for almost eight years now. Rahul has a Test average of 34.07 in 46 matches and Prasad, citing his Test record, said that Ravichandran Ashwin, who has a good cricket knowledge, should be the deputy of the Test team along with Rohit Sharma. Should be made captain.
Prasad said, “After spending more than eight years in international cricket, an average of 34 in 46 Tests is very normal. I don’t remember so many chances being given to anyone else. “He said,” While many are waiting for their turn and are in excellent form. Shubman Gill is in excellent form, Sarfaraz Khan is scoring runs in first-class matches and there are many who deserve to be selected ahead of Rahul.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, Prasad wrote, “Some people are lucky enough to be given endless chances to succeed while some don’t get such chances.” I respect Rahul’s talent and skill but his performance has been underwhelming. Despite the performance, he remains in the Test team. Prasad also listed the names of five cricketers who could replace Rahul as the vice-captain of the Test team.
“Rahul is the designated vice-captain of the team which makes matters worse. Ashwin has a very good understanding of cricket and he should be the vice-captain in the Test format. Mayank Agarwal has made a far better impact in Tests than Rahul and so has (Hanuma) Vihari.
