He needs sympathetic treatment from the selectors
As he celebrates his 31st birthday with the Karnataka team in Kenya, Venkatesh Prasad must be aware that his career is at the crossroads
Partab Ramchand
05-Aug-2000
As he celebrates his 31st birthday with the Karnataka team in Kenya,
Venkatesh Prasad must be aware that his career is at the crossroads.
Ever since his impressive Test debut in England in 1996, he has been
an integral part of the new ball attack, in most cases with his senior
partner from Karnataka, Javagal Srinath. Since that tour, the two
promised to be the best Indian pace attack since Md Nissar and Amar
Singh of the thirties. After years of facing the heat, the Indians
could now give as much as they could get from both ends. For long, the
Indians at best could field two medium pace bowlers but having two
fast medium bowlers in Srinath and Prasad was a gratifying experience
for the Indian team.
From 1996 to 1999, Prasad was more or less a regular member of the
team. As Srinath's reliable partner or as an effective new ball bowler
in his own right, Prasad's value to the team was immense. Tall and
well built with the stamina to bowl long spells, Prasad could be used
effectively as a stock bowler. But there were times when he struck a
purple patch, most notably at Chennai in the first Test against
Pakistan. He terminated the Pakistan second innings with a deadly
spell of five wickets for no runs off 18 balls towards innings figures
of six for 33.
This was in many ways his best performance but then Prasad has very
rarely let his team down as his figures of 85 wickets from 29 Tests at
an average of 34.70 strongly convey. One recalls how he carried the
Indian attack gamely on his broad shoulders when Srinath had to return
at the start of the tour of the West Indies in 1997. Or how he took 17
wickets in three Tests, including a match haul of ten for 153 at
Durban to head the averages, above even an inspired Srinath in South
Africa in 1996-97. Or his great spell against a strong South African
side on a good batting strip at the Eden Gardens earlier the same
season when he finished with six for 104.
The fact of the matter is that despite such performances, he never
seems to enjoy the confidence of the selectors. They have always kept
him in suspense by playing bowlers like Harvinder, Agarkar, Mohanty,
Kuruvilla and Robin Singh (jr) or by having Ganguly open the attack
with Srinath. In the last eight Test matches, all during the 1999-2000
season, Prasad has missed four. Moreover, new medium pacers have been
encouraged in Amit Bhandari and Thiru Kumaran and towards the end of
the season, Prasad seemed to be a forgotten man - scant
acknowledgement for a bowler who with figures of five for 27 played
the leading role in victory over Pakistan in the World Cup, a little
over a year ago.
But given his never say attitude and his indefatigable approach, it is
unlikely that Prasad will give up. He will be eager to bounce back, to
prove that he still has the fire to bowl quick. The proximity to the
100 wicket mark will be the motivation, as also the fact that a long
season lies ahead. When the going gets tough, the tough get going and
Prasad, a bowler who combines skill, stamina and a stout heart surely
has much to offer Indian cricket. All he needs is a little sympathetic
treatment from the selectors.