"Sourav, Sehwag, Yuvraj all have been dropped when not in form" - Venkatesh Prasad questions the need to 'rest' out-of-form Indian batters
Former pacer Venkatesh Prasad has taken a dig at the current Indian think tank, questioning the decision to 'rest' players when they are not in form. Without naming any player from the current team, Prasad said that, in the past, big names like Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag have been dropped from the Indian team due to poor form despite their reputation.
The Indian team is currently in England for a tour. On Sunday (July 10), they went down to the hosts by 17 runs in the third and final T20I of the series. Although the Men in Blue won the series 2-1, captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s poor run with the willow continued. While Sharma has scored 66 runs in three games at an average of 22, Kohli has managed only 12 runs in two games.
While the duo will feature in the ODIs against England, both have been rested for the forthcoming one-dayers in the West Indies. Taking to his Twitter handle, Prasad slammed the thinking of the current Team India setup. He wrote:
“There was a time when you were out of form, you would be dropped irrespective of reputation. Sourav, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Zaheer, Bhajji all have been dropped when not in form. They have went back to domestic cricket, scored runs and staged a comeback.”
The former India pacer continued:
“The yardsticks seem to have changed drastically now, where there is rest for being out of form. This is no way for progress. There is so much talent in the country and cannot play on reputation. One of India’s greatest match-winner, Anil Kumble sat out on so many occasions, need actions for the larger good.”
There was a time when you were out of form, you would be dropped irrespective of reputation. Sourav, Sehwag,Yuvraj,Zaheer, Bhajji all have been dropped when not in form. They have went back to domestic cricket, scored runs and staged a comeback. The yardsticks seem to have 1/2
According to media reports, while Rohit Sharma will be available for the T20Is in the West Indies, Kohli has requested rest for all white ball games in the Caribbean.
Childhood coach backs Virat Kohli after Indian legend questions batter’s place in T20I squad
Virat Kohli has been under fire from various quarters owing to his listless run with the bat for quite a while now. Indian legend Kapil Dev also recently questioned Kohli's place in the Indian T20I team. However, backing the out-of-form batter, Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma told ANI:
"I do not support the statements made by Kapil Dev on Virat Kohli. Nothing big happened with Virat that such kind of statement has been issued. Why is there so much hurry with Virat; he has done so well for the country. Making 70 international centuries is not a small thing. I do not think the board will make a decision to have him sit on the bench.”
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Kohli's last international century came against Bangladesh in November 2019 during India's maiden pink ball Test in Kolkata.