Former Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad has strongly criticized the Indian team following their defeat in the second ODI against West Indies on July 29 at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados. Despite a decent opening partnership of 90 runs, the young Indian side, missing key players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, were bowled out for a mere 181 runs.
The West Indies, led by captain Shai Hope’s unbeaten 63 and Keacy Carty’s 48 not out, successfully chased down the target in 36.4 overs, securing a six-wicket victory. Prasad expressed his disappointment with India’s performance, emphasizing that the team’s showing in both ODIs and T20Is has been consistently subpar for some time now. He further highlighted their series losses against South Africa, Australia, and Bangladesh in the ODIs since 2022 as additional evidence to support his critique.
Venkatesh Prasad Tweeted
“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 continued by saying that despite their wealth and influence, the nation’s sports supporters have become accustomed to supporting underwhelming teams and are influenced by champion teams.
“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.
Notably, India has not claimed an ICC trophy since winning the Champions Trophy in 2013 while MS Dhoni served as captain. With the exception of the T20 World Cup 2021, the Asian giants have succeeded in making it to the knockout rounds of all competitions since then, but they have not been able to win the championship.
Therefore, the Men in Blue are under immense pressure to win the 2023 ODI World Cup, which will start on October 5 in India.
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