Venkatesh Prasad, the former India fast bowler, expressed his disappointment with the Indian team’s lacklustre performance in ODI and T20I cricket in recent times. He criticized the team’s approach and attitude in the white-ball formats, suggesting that despite their financial resources and influence, they have settled for mediocrity.
India’s performance in white-ball tournaments has been underwhelming since the 2018 Asia Cup, as they haven’t reached any finals. They suffered defeats in the semifinals of the 2019 World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup. Even in the 2021 T20 World Cup, they couldn’t progress past the Super 12s. Last year’s Asia Cup saw them eliminated in the Super 4s.
After India’s recent loss to West Indies in the second ODI, Prasad took to Twitter to voice his concerns. He stressed that India’s underperformance over time is due to their approach and attitude, which has not been on par with that of champion teams. Prasad pointed out that India has also faced defeats in the ODI series against Bangladesh, South Africa, and Australia since the beginning of 2022.
He compared India’s performance to world champion teams like England and Australia, indicating that India lacks the excitement of England or the ruthlessness of the Aussies. It’s worth noting that West Indies, despite being one of the weakest ODI teams in 2023 and failing to qualify for the Cricket World Cup, managed a six-wicket win against India in the recent match.
“Neither are we an exciting team like England nor brutal like how the Aussies used to be” -Venkatesh Prasad
Despite the money and power, we have become used to celebrating mediocrity and are far from how champion sides are. Every team plays to win and so does India but their approach and attitude is also a factor for underperformance over a period of time.
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) July 30, 2023
Test cricket aside, India has been very ordinary in the other two formats for quite sometime now.
Lost odi series against ban, SA and Aus. Poor in the last two T20 World Cups.
Neither are we an exciting team like England nor brutal like how the Aussies used to be. Cont— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) July 30, 2023
As India prepares to face West Indies again in Trinidad, they’ll be looking to avoid another embarrassing series defeat. Prasad’s criticism serves as a wake-up call for the team to improve their approach and regain their competitive edge in the white-ball formats.
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