Ind vs Aus: Venkatesh Prasad trends as KL Rahul is dropped

Venkatesh Prasad has been critical of KL Rahul’s performance. ((Image: Twitter @venkateshprasad)

Indian opener KL Rahul, whose dismal run in red ball cricket has been raising questions about his presence in the team, was dropped from the playing XI for the third Test in Indore against Australia in favour of Shubman Gill.

The change was expected after India won the second Test in Delhi but it was former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad who was trending on Twitter after the team for the game, which got underway on March 1, was announced.

Rahul has been in poor form in Test cricket since the beginning of 2022, scoring only 175 runs in 11 innings at an average of 15.90.

His place in the team was questioned by many on social media, with Prasad being one of the most vocal voices on Twitter.

I have a lot of regard for KL Rahul’s talent and ability, but sadly his performances have been well below par. A test average of 34 after 46 tests and more than 8 years in international cricket is ordinary. Can’t think of many who have been given so many chances. Especially..cont

— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) February 11, 2023

As Rahul’s poor run continued in the ongoing series against Australia as well — 38 runs from three innings —  Prasad posted a series of Tweets calling for the opener to be dropped.

The former India pacer tweeted there were better options at the top of the order and shared stats of Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill, all of whom had better numbers than Rahul.

His series of tweets stirred heated debate on Twitter, with former opener Aakash Chopra disagreeing with Prasad over the timing of his tweets.

Venky Bhai, Test match chal raha hai. How about, at least, waiting for both the innings to get over. All of us are in the same team i.e. Team India. Not asking you to hold back your thoughts but timing could be a little better. After all, our game is all about the ‘timing’ https://t.co/HvxtRQxQDn

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 19, 2023

Chopra also addressed Prasad's tweets in a video on his YouTube channel and implied the latter was an "agenda peddler".

After Rohit Sharma mentioned Rahul's exclusion during the toss, Prasad was trending on Twitter with users sharing memes.

Venkatesh Prasad right now : pic.twitter.com/NQbmNrbtRG

— Sai (@akakrcb6) March 1, 2023

Gill’s bat has been talking

Gill has been rewarded for his stellar form for team India, especially in white ball cricket after scoring one fifty and three centuries in his last six innings, including a brilliant 208 against New Zealand in Hyderabad in January.

The 23-year-old has made a mark in Test cricket even with the limited opportunities he got, with his 91 against Australia in the famous Gabba Test being a standout knock.

With Gill's stock on the rise, Rahul's future in India's Test setup looks bleak.

At the time of writing this report, India were struggling at 57 for 5 at Indore on Day 1 barely an hour into the third Test after winning the toss and opting to bat.