Three Most Controversial Decisions Taken By Outgoing Selector MSK Prasad

India’s chief selector MSK Prasad is set to vacate the office after a four-year-long tenure with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Being the selector of the national side, Prasad has taken some excellent decisions that have seen India emerge as a global giant in world cricket.

However, he has also faced a lot of criticism for some of his very controversial decisions. Prasad has been one of India’s most highlighted chief selectors and has had a very busy profile handling the issues of the Men in Blue.

From excluding Yuvraj Singh in the T20I squad to Vijay Shankar’s inclusion in the World Cup side, let’s take a look on the three most controversial decisions taken by MSK Prasad after assuming the role of the chief selector of the Indian National Cricket Team.

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MSK Prasad and His Three Most Controversial Decisions:

Ambati Rayudu Saga:

The decision to pick Vijay Shankar in the World Cup squad ahead of Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu shocked the cricketing fraternity.

India had long been worried about the number four position and picking Shankar all of a sudden left the fans and experts in shock.

There is no doubt over Shankar’s potential but Rishabh was being groomed to be the next big thing in Indian cricket while captain Virat Kohli had backed Rayudu to be India’s No.4 batsman.

With Shankar being injured in the World Cup, Pant got the chance to represent India at the World Cup. However, Rayudu announced his retirement after missing out on the chance.

Team India eventually suffered because of a batting order collapse in the semi-final of the tournament.  Hence, the fans censured Prasad’s decision at such a grand stage.

Excluding Yuvraj Singh from the T20 Squad:

It is understandable that the Indian selectors wished to build a young team for the T20Is. The management tried a lot of youngsters in the middle order. But they forgot the expense at which they did this.

Veteran players like Suresh Raina, Yuvraj were in good shape when they were dropped from the T20I team.

Both of them, especially Yuvraj, had been the cornerstone of the Indian T20I team for quite some time.

The Indian team has not found its ideal all-rounder and finisher till now.

Krunal Pandya, Pant and Washington Sundar are yet to cement their places in the Indian T20I team. He has been hitting the big shots in the foreign T20 leagues which shows he still has the power to clear the boundaries.

Sanju Samson’s Career-Ending Streak:

Team India have not found a perfect replacement of MS Dhoni till now. They are still trying and experimenting with different players as the wicketkeeper-batsman but things don’t seem to fall in place for the men in blue.

However, KL Rahul is now looking a rock-solid option with his performance against the Kangaroos and the Kiwis but Sanju Samson should have been given a chance much early.

Samson has constantly been performing well in domestic cricket and in T20 leagues. He was supposed to be Dhoni’s heir in the team. But, Rishabh Pant showed some good performances before the World Cup and he was picked over Samson.

Since then, Pant had been entrusted with numerous chances but he failed miserably with the bat.

Still, the Prasad-led committee did not bestow the chances on Samson and now it seems a rare possibility that he will return to the national side.

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