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'No way you drop...' - Former Indian cricket slams team management's decision to include KL Rahul for 1st ODI (Image Source: Twitter)
KL Rahul, the Indian batter, was roped into the playing XI for the first ODI against Sri Lanka played on January 10, Tuesday and many opined that the batter must have paved way for unorthodox batter Suryakumar Yadav. The batter gathered 39 runs on the day while the Indian superstar Virat Kohli scored a massive 113, bagging his 73rd international century.
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The Men in Blue put on 373 runs on the board at the end of the first innings with the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill scoring 83 and 70 runs respectively. Former Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad, who took cognizance of Rahul’s selection, took to Twitter to express his displeasure over the same.
“Think fair would have been to give chance to a man who scored a double hundred in India's last ODI, and in a series where India lost two games and the series. Have all the time in the world for Gill, but no way you drop a player for scoring a double ton,” Prasad wrote on Twitter.
Think fair would have been to give chance to a man who scored a double hundred in India’s last ODI, and in a series where India lost two games and the series.
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) January 9, 2023
Have all the time in the world for Gill, but no way you drop a player for scoring a double ton. https://t.co/LbzKKH8ynw
Performance is not the foremost parameter: Venkatesh Prasad
The former Indian pacer further added that it would be fair to give opportunities to those who deserve them rather than to players who have been constantly failing to gather runs. It remains to be seen if Rohit and the head coach Rahul Dravid would keep him out of the playing XI for the second game.
“There is a reason we have underperformed in Limited overs cricket. Constant chopping changing and a guy who does brilliantly and is an X factor is dropped and mediocrity retained,” Prasad wrote on Twitter further as he slammed the team management and selectors.
“In Eng, Pant scored a hundred in the final ODI and helped India win the series. However based on T20 form was dropped from ODI team. KL Rahul on the other hand barring a couple of innings has failed consistently but retains his place. Performance is not the foremost parameter. Sad,” said the former Indian cricketer on Twitter.