Former Indian pace bowler Venkatesh Prasad has slammed Hardik Pandya and India’s T20I team after their 3-2 series loss to West Indies, calling the captain “clueless” and accusing the system of being blinded by favouritism. However, Team India lost the first two T20Is of the five-match T20I series narrowly by four runs and two wickets, respectively, before returning in the next two to draw the rubber level as well.
In a series of tweets, Prasad added, “India needs to improve their skillset,” he said. “Their is a hunger & intensity deficiency & often the captain looked clueless. Bowler’s can’t bat, batsmen can’t bowl. It’s important to not look for yes men and be blinded because someone is your favorite player but look at the larger good [sic]”
When he was asked what the role of captain and team management played in the debacle, Venkatesh Prasad stated that they “misuse” the word “process” unlike MS Dhoni, who actually “meant it” as well.
READ MORE: Harbhajan Singh says Australia have the upperhand in the WTC final
“They are responsible for the debacle and need to be accountable,” he said. “Process and such words are misused now. MS meant it, guys now just use the word. There is no consistency in selection, random stuff happening too much.”
However, Hardik Pandya talked about the ‘process’ during the post-match ceremony, specifically adding that his players tried a few new things in the series. He also shared that “losing is good at times” because now they have an opportunity to learn.
READ MORE: Sanjay Manjrekar dissects Virat Kohli’s poor show in WTC Final
“India has been a very very ordinary limited overs side for sometime now,” Prasad added. “They have been humbled by a West Indies side that failed to qualify for the T20 WC few months back. We had also lost to Ban in the ODI series. Hope they introspect instead of making silly statements,” Venkatesh Prasad concluded.
