Venkatesh Prasad Wants Indian Batsmen to Score Big in South Africa

Former Indian cricketer and bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad wants the men in blue batsmen to score big in the upcoming South Africa series scheduled to start from next month so that the bowlers have enough runs to bowl at and can bowl freely.

“I have always felt that the batsmen need to put up big scores for the bowlers to bowl freely. You need to post over-300 scores and that’s what we should be looking at. The bowlers will then have the freedom to express themselves,” Prasad was heard saying to mid-day.

Virat Kohli led Indian team starts their campaign in the Rainbow Nation from January 5, as they play their first Test at Cape Town. India will play three Tests, followed by six ODIs and three T20s in a month-long tour.

Prasad was a part of Sachin Tendulkar’s team that visited South Africa in 1996-97 when SA won the series 2-0. Prasad bagged ten wickets in the opening Test at Durban (5-60 and 5-93), but India lost by a huge margin of 328 runs.

Also Read: Indian Batsmen Are Going Back to South Africa as Better Players: Sourav Ganguly

However, Prasad is confident about the batsmen having a good stint in South Africa.

“The ball comes on to the bat [well] for them to play their shots and most of our batsmen like to play shots. Also, the bounce is even. It’s important for them to put good scores on board — not just decent — but good scores to allow the bowlers to bowl freely,” the 48-year-old Prasad stated.

Prasad also lauded India’s bowling attack comprising  Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

“They are all experienced and have the variations. I am sure they will do well. The spinners have to assess the conditions and if it is not helping the spinners, the best they can do is to make sure they create pressure like what Anil Kumble and others did when we played abroad,” Prasad further added.

Also Read: Lalchand Rajput Predicts Series Win for Team India in South Africa

The 196 ODI wickets holder Prasad also applauded the way Virat Kohli has led this young Indian team and admitted nothing could be better than Kohli leading this team.

“This team has got depth in batting, bowling and they are an outstanding fielding side. Their fitness levels have risen and they are all hungry to do well abroad. I am quite confident of their success on the South Africa tour,” Prasad signed off.

Also Read: Graeme Smith Reveals the Name of Indian Cricketers who will be Crucial in South Africa