After Ravi Shastri, former India seamer Venkatesh Prasad was the second applicant to apply for the coaching job—a post that is now vacant after legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble quit this month. It’s Venkatesh Prasand Vs Ravi Shastri. Who’s more eligible for this job? In the next couple of paragraphs, we’ll do an analysis of their on-field performances to find out who is better.
A Brief Insight into Ravi Shastri’s Cricket Career…
Ravi Shastri, the former director of the Indian cricket team, was famous for his trademark ‘chapati shot’—a remarkable stroke delivered by a delicate flick off the pads. Shastri stepped in Team India as a left arm spin bowler but ended up as an all-rounder as his career progressed. As a batsman, he successfully played his role as the opening batsman. His best performance was when he scored six sixes in an over in the FC.
He represented the ‘Men in Blue’ in all three forms—ODIs, Test Cricket and First Class cricket between 1981 and 1992 that is nearly a decade. He accumulated total 3830 runs in Test matches, 3108 runs in ODIs and 13,202 runs in FCs. Like Yuvraj Singh, his “above-average height” (which is 6 feet 3 inches) restricted his batting style against fast bowlers, but he was effective against the spinners.
He held great potential as a captain, but a series of injuries and out-of-form performances narrowed his chances as a captain.
Talking in terms of coaching, Ravi Shastri is more suitable for the post of Indian cricket team coach. It’s because all the years of commentary have kept him at par with new cricketing trends. Moreover, his dominating personality will help him keep the members together as a team. Besides this, Shastri is bold enough to tackle with the ‘mood swings’ of Captain ‘Hothead’ Kohli.
All About Venkatesh Prasad: the Bowling Prodigy…
Venkatesh Prasad, an efficient right-arm, medium-pace bowler was known for his bowling combination with former Indian bowler Javagal Srinath. Prasad represented team India in the late 90s in all the three formats—Test cricket, ODIs and FCs. As a bowler, he took 196 wickets in 161 ODIs and 96 wickets in 33 test matches. His best performance was against Pakistan in the 1999 test series where he took 5 wickets for 0 runs.
In 1996, he took 10 wickets in a test match in South Africa. As a bowling coach, he made his debut in the Indian cricket team between 2007 and 2009. Thereafter, he coached the bowlers of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL series. Despite his good performance on the field, the BCCI sacked him along with Robin Singh in 2009.
He’s suitable for the coaching job as he has had first-hand experience with the RCB and Team India. Besides, he has worked with RCB captain Virat Kohli earlier.
In short, it’ll be a tough call for the BCCI. The veterans need to closely judge both Shastri and Prasad’s abilities before they appoint a new coach for Team India.
