With India succumbing to yet another defeat in the ongoing T20I series against West Indies, former fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad has raised questions over the team’s progress ever since the IPL was introduced. Prasad pointed out that India have played in seven T20 World Cups since the IPL got underway but they the trophy has remained elusive.
India won the inaugural World T20 in 2007 under the captaincy of MS Dhoni following which the BCCI launched the franchise-based competition. However, since then, they have made the final just once.
After their semifinal exit in the T20 World Cup last year, held in Australia, the team has started the transition in the shortest format under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy. In their final leg of the Caribbean tour, India find themselves on the verge of a rare T20I series defeat to West Indies having lost the opening two matches.
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“Very very ordinary. No point in brushing it aside. After the 2007 T20 World Cup, IPL started and we haven’t won a T20 World Cup in 7 attempts since, making only 1 finals. The intensity and hunger to win needs to be far more,” Venkatesh Prasad posted on Twitter.
Very very ordinary. No point in brushing it aside. After the 2007 T20 World Cup, IPL started and we haven’t won a T20 World Cup in 7 attempts since, making only 1 finals. The intensity and hunger to win needs to be far more .
Yesterday after Yuzi took 2 wkts in the 16th, cont https://t.co/xNOfjqZJeG— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) August 7, 2023
He also touched upon the vastly criticized decision to not bowl Yuzvendra Chahal again after a successful 16th over during the 2nd T20I on Sunday.
“Yesterday after Yuzi took 2 wkts in the 16th … and got India back into the game in what was his third over and West Indies 8th down and he didn’t bowl again and No 9 and 10 for WI found the pacers easy to handle. Should be smarter at these moments then just doing textbook stuff,” Venkatesh Prasad added.
And Yuzi got India back into the game in what was his third over and West Indies 8th down and he didn’t bowl again and No 9 and 10 for WI found the pacers easy to handle. Should be smarter at these moments then just doing textbook stuff.
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) August 7, 2023
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Venkatesh Prasad has been critical of the Indian team, claiming they have been good in Tests but ‘very ordinary’ in white-ball cricket after they lost to West Indies in the 2nd ODI of a three-match series which they eventually won 2-1.
“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,” Prasad had tweeted earlier.
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“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,” he added.
The third T20I of the five-match series will be played on Tuesday.
