Venkatesh Prasad questions KL Rahul’s inclusion in India’s Test Team, says player shouldn’t be Vice-Captain

Rahul’s
form
of
late
has
been
horrible,
to
say
the
least.
The
batter
has
struggled
in
every
format,
and
has
failed
to
capitalize
on
his
chances.

Rahul
was
included
in
the
Test
squad,
and
then
named
in
the
team
for
the
1st
Test
against
Australia
in
the
Border-Gavaskar
Trophy.
The
batter
again
failed,
scoring
20
runs
off
71
balls
before
departing
in
the
bowling
of
debutant
Todd
Murphy.

And
Venkatesh
Prasad
has
taken
to
Twitter
to
launch
a
series
of
attacks
regarding
the
place
of
the
player
in
the
Indian
team.

“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,”
Prasad
tweeted
on
Saturday.

When
there
are
so
many
waiting
in
the
wings
&
in
top
form.
Shubhman
Gill
is
in
sublime
form,Sarfaraz
has
been
scoring
tons
in
FC
cricket
and
many
who
deserve
a
chance
ahead
of
Rahul.
Some
are
just
lucky
to
be
given
chances
endlessly
till
they
succeed
while
some
aren’t
allowed
to.

—
Venkatesh
Prasad
(@venkateshprasad)

February
11,
2023

To
be
honest,
there
are
many
deserving
players
who
are
out
in
the
peripheral
zone.
Shubman
Gill,
who
is
in
the
form
of
his
life,
was
dropped
from
the
1st
Test
despite
getting
the
highest
number
of
runs
in
the
ODI
series
against
New
Zealand.
Sarfaraz
Khan,
a
serial
performer
in
the
domestic
circuit
also
hasn’t
ever
been
called
up
to
the
Indian
Test
squad.

“Some
are
just
lucky
to
be
given
chances
endlessly
till
they
succeed
while
some
aren’t
allowed
to,”
Prasad
wrote
in
one
of
his
Tweet
series.

KL
Rahul
is
also
named
the
vice-captain
of
the
Indian
team
and
Prasad
feels
the
player
doesn’t
deserve
it.
He
said
Ashwin
or
Jadeja
can
become
a
far
better
vice-captain
for
the
Indian
team
and
believes
Hanuma
Vihari
has
made
a
bigger
impact
than
Rahul
in
Test
cricket.

He
also
termed
KL
Rahul
as
‘consistently
inconsistent’ and
claimed
his
selection
is
the
team
is
solely
based
on
favouritism.

Rahul’s
selection
is
not
based
on
performance
but
favouritism
.
Has
been
Consistently
inconsistent
and
for
someone
who
has
been
around
for
8
years
not
converted
potential
into
performances.
One
of
the
reasons
why
many
ex-cricketers
aren’t
vocal
despite
seeing
such
favouritism..

—
Venkatesh
Prasad
(@venkateshprasad)

February
11,
2023

KL
Rahul
has
been
under
the
heat
for
a
long
time
now.
His
performance
has
been
thin
and
just
for
that,
the
flamboyant
batter
has
faced
the
wrath
of
many.
The
onus
is
now
on
KL
to
turn
the
tide
in
his
favour
in
the
upcoming
matches.