Following India’s 3-2 series loss to West Indies, former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad has strongly criticized Hardik Pandya and the T20I team. Prasad referred to the skipper as “clueless” and accused the system of displaying favoritism.
In the closely contested five-match series, India narrowly lost the first two T20Is by four runs and two wickets, respectively. However, they managed to stage a comeback in the subsequent two matches, resulting in a level draw for the series.
During the series decider on Sunday, the hosts delivered their most impressive performance by restricting the visitors to a total of 165. They then efficiently chased down the target in a mere 18 overs, securing a historic victory in a five-match T20I series against India for the first time.
In a series of tweets, Prasad highlighted the issue of team imbalance and expressed his belief that the team management is seeking individuals who are compliant.
He emphasized that India should enhance their skillset and address a shortage of hunger and intensity. Prasad also noted instances where the captain seemed uncertain, mentioning the challenge of bowlers lacking batting skills and batsmen not being effective bowlers.
He underlined the importance of not favoring players simply because they are favorites, but rather considering the team’s greater benefit.
When questioned about the role of the captain and team management in the disappointing performance, Prasad responded by pointing out that they tend to misuse the term “process,” unlike MS Dhoni, who genuinely understood and implemented it.
Prasad expressed that the captain and team management bear responsibility for the poor performance and should be held accountable. He emphasized that terms like “process” are being misused nowadays, in contrast to how MS Dhoni genuinely implemented it. Prasad criticized the lack of consistency in selection and noted instances of arbitrary decisions.
“Process and such words are misused now. MS meant it, guys now just use the word,” a part of Prasad’s words read.
Hardik Pandya mentioned the term ‘process’ during the post-match ceremony, highlighting that his players experimented with new approaches during the series. He also mentioned that experiencing losses can be beneficial as it provides an opportunity to learn and improve.
