Not Giving MS Dhoni A Farewell To Rayudu's Omission: MSK Prasad Reveals His Toughest Decisions As Chief Selector

Former chairman of BCCI’s selection committee MSK Prasad has revealed the three toughest calls he had to take while being at the helm. MSK Prasad had a very interesting journey as the chief selector.

During his tenure, India achieved some highs like Test series win in Australia, ODI series win in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. India remained at the top of the Test rankings for more than three years. India also have a strong bench strength in both batting and bowling.

However, the phase was also marred with several controversies. The MSK Prasad-led panel often faced criticism for their failure to give longer ropes to youngsters. The failure to sort out the fragile middle-order was another such area and the he had also faced criticism for the his instance on former India captain MS Dhoni.

Toughest calls:

Among the many calls he took, MSK Prasad recently revealed the toughest ones of the lot. The former India wicketkeeper picked the decision to omit Ambati Rayudu for the 2019 World Cup, not giving Karun Nair enough opportunities after his triple century against England in 2016 and not giving MS Dhoni a farewell match.

“Karun Nair has got a triple hundred, and subsequently he played in three or four Test matches and he didn’t do well…again, what happened is for the next one year, couple of India A series he failed. Then we still sent him to England (in 2018), but he didn’t get an opportunity to play. Then he had a tough Ranji Trophy season (2018/19). That’s how he has fallen down,” MSK Prasad told Sportskeeda.

Speaking about Rayudu’s surprising omission from the World Cup squad, he said that there was nothing personal about the decision. The selectors had faced severe criticism for the decision as they picked an inexperienced Vijay Shankar to replace Rayudu who was groomed for the number four spot.

“I feel that we have groomed him (Rayudu) for that slot and eventually we had to send Vijay Shankar in his place. So, that also leaves me a little bit of pain, but there is a reason for it…There is nothing personal thing involved in it, everything revolves around the country and country’s interests,” said MSK Prasad who represented India in six Tests and 17 ODIs.

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