Prasad slams Indian cricket board for double standards

Dubai: Former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad criticised the Indian cricket board's "double standards", saying an Indian coach would have been sacked if the team had produced such a woeful performance as they have under Duncan Fletcher.

"It's high time the board started questioning the team management's thought process and decision- making. I am not questioning their quality or trying to criticise the people in the management, but the thought process.

"Any Indian in that position would have been out by now. It shows there is double standards that's going on," Venkatesh Prasad, who was in Sharjah to conduct the Asian Cricket Council Level 1 coaches course, said.

Fletcher took over the reins from Gary Kirsten when India were the world No 1 Test team, but Dhoni & co have hit an abysmal low under him by losing eight away Test matches in a row and are on the brink of elimination from the Tri-series in Australia.

The overall performance of the team, especially that of the batsmen, has come in for severe criticism, with just one century in the four-match Test series and none so far in the tri-series.

Succumbing to pressure

"It [the performance] has not been good at all. Honestly speaking, the seniors specially have let down the team," Prasad told Gulf News.

"With the kind of experience in the line-up, they [batsmen] were not able to create the opportunities for themselves to bail the team out and succumbed to pressure."

Probably, his words echo the popular sentiments of Indian fans who have questioned some of the senior players' positions in the team.

"It's time they [senior players] make some hard decisions. It's not easy to sit on the other side and say that x, y, z need to be retiring and so on. It's important to think from their shoes, especially when they have contributed so much. It is important for the board officials and the selectors to call them for a meeting, talk about the future of Indian cricket and slowly phase them out. It is important for someone to bell the cat."

Unfortunately, some of the younger players like Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma — who were expected to take over the mantle from the seniors, have not stood up to be counted during the two away tours.

Prasad, however, had words of support for them — saying that to expect them to perform well regularly at this stage is "asking for a bit too much".

"The same seniors we are talking about were youngsters at a point of time and it's not that they were scoring in every single game. When they were given those many opportunities, that's when they were scoring well," he added.

"What is important now is to blood youngsters. Anyway you have lost with the senior players, you might as well lose with the younger players, at least they get that experience."

Coaching stint

Prasad has reasons to feel unhappy since he was unceremoniously dumped from his role some years ago as a bowling coach despite an impressive show. "I had a great time when I was the bowling coach. We won the Test series in England, Twenty20 World Cup, New Zealand series and then the Perth Test during the last tour of Australia. It hurt when the board decided to remove me," he added.

"I am, of course, still ready to contribute to the cause of the Indian team and the bowlers," he said.