India captain Rohit Sharma’s decision to pick Shubhman Gill over Ishan Kishan in the first ODI against Sri Lanka has riled up a lot of people on social media. In this pool of reactions, former Indian fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad also expressed his confusion and disbelief at this call.
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In a series of tweets, the Karnataka pacer made a case for Kishan and further pointed out the issues which have held the Indian back in white ball cricket over the last few years. Prasad raised a query on why a player, after scoring a double hundred, isn’t part of the playing XI. He further stated that these constant changes have held the Men in Blue back.
Prasad wrote, "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. And if one is convinced to play Gill, then can have him bat at 3 and let Ishan keep wickets instead of KL Rahul"
"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.
He further talked about how something similar happened with Rishabh Pant, who scored a crucial century against England in the final ODI of the series. Prasad added, "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."