MSK Prasad names a potential surprise pick for India’s tour of Australia

MSK Prasad had a love-hate relationship with the Indian cricketing public when he was the chief selector. While there were many decisions that he was criticised for, one mustn’t forget the right calls that he made. For instance, there has been a lot written about the Ambati Rayudu non-selection in the World Cup. There is no denying the fact that the selection committee and the team management didn’t get that one right and Rayudu was more deserving than Vijay Shankar.

However, there were other decisions like introducing the two wrist spinners Kuldeep and Chahal in limited-overs cricket. The duo for the next two years had amazing success all around the world. The KUL-CHA combine helped India win a historic ODI series in South Africa, an ODI series in New Zealand and a T20 series in England too. On top of that, India beat Australia in Australia in a bilateral ODI and T20 series in early 2019 on the back of good performances by Kuldeep and Chahal.

The great Indian fast bowling resurgence

Much of the credit for building a fearsome lineup of fast bowlers goes to Virat Kohli. While the captain deserves every bit of the praise, the decision for including Bumrah in Test cricket should also be attributed to the MSK Prasad led selection committee. However, if there was one thing that Prasad could have done better was his communication with the players who were dropped. Players like Rayudu, Karun Nair and Kedar Jadhav have gone on record to say that the selectors didn’t properly communicate to them the reason for their non-selection.

MSK Prasad backs Shivam Mavi as a surprise selection for India’s tour of Australia

MSK Prasad who is now relieved of his duties as the chief selector has backed Shivam Mavi’s selection as a surprise one for India’s tour of Australia. “(Shivam) Mavi could be given exposure as an extra pacer at least in white-ball and may be groomed later for red ball,” Prasad said to PTI. He also backed Mohammed Siraj’s selection on the back of good domestic performances. “Siraj has really done well for India A over the past few seasons. I think he is a better red ball bowler and could be very handy in Australian conditions,” Prasad added