Venkatesh Prasad’s praises KL Rahul. Twitter divided

KL Rahul has finally come out of the lean patch, playing a match-winning knock in India’s victory against Australia in the first ODI on 17 March. Following his swashbuckling batting, several former players and pundits went on to shower immense praise on Rahul for rescuing the Indian brigade from a pressure situation. Among others, Venkatesh Prasad, who earlier criticised the batter for his long-standing poor form, penned an appreciatory note on Twitter where the former cricketer hailed Rahul for showing “excellent composure.” In addition, Prasad lauded Ravindra Jadeja for providing the necessary assistance to Rahul in the later half of the chase, while also congratulating the Men in Blue for the “good win.”

Since Venkatesh Prasad’s tweet surfaced on the internet, Twitter users showed no mercy to the ex-cricketer for altering his verdict regarding KL Rahul’s batting. However, there were fans who backed Prasad, referring to the difference between Rahul’s form in Tests and the limited-over formats.

A fan said to Venkatesh Prasad, “Finally you got the answers to your previous tweets on why backing KL Rahul is important for Team India.”

A user praised Prasad for being honest despite the situation and wrote, “Venkatesh sir, you are truly concerned about Indian cricket, that’s why you are always vocal in appreciating and criticising. Not many have that composure. Kudos to you.”

Another fan believed that Rahul should come down in the order in white-ball cricket as he noted, “Whether one admits it or not, the No 5 spot in white-ball cricket suites KL Rahul. In fact, he can be a great match-winner playing in that position.”

Here are some hilarious reactions: 

KL Rahul’s performance in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy garnered a lot of criticism with Venkatesh Prasad questioning the selector’s call to give the opener a longer rope. According to him, Rahul’s inclusion made things difficult for the talented youngsters, who were waiting in the queue to don the national kit.

After Kl Rahul’s below-par batting in the opening Test, Prasad shelled out a stern remark as he tweeted, “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.” He continued to analyse Rahul’s red-ball career in a few subsequent tweets.

In the first ODI, KL Rahul seemed to have shut all his critics, shining with the bat on a day when other Indian batters surrendered early in front of the Aussie pace attack, led by Mitchell Starc. Chasing 189, India lost four wickets for just 39 runs. Coming out to bat in such a difficult situation, Rahul held his nerve, entertained the Mumbai crowd with some classy shots, and ultimately, helped his side win the match by 5 wickets. During his gutsy 75-run knock, the right-handed batter smashed 7 boundaries and a single six.

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