Prasad appears to be a `marked man'

THERE IS a common thread running through Venkatesh Prasad's career. Every match is a fight for survival.

A foot-soldier first and last, Prasad has battled along bravely, winning several battles, and the latest setback, that reveals the ugly side of Indian cricket, would only have sharpened his combative instincts.

``Venkatesh Prasad was considered for the one-day series, but we have seen him before,'' said Mr. Chadu Borde, chairman of the National selection panel, on the Karnataka bowler's omission from the list of 26 probables for the tour of Zimbabwe. The statement made little sense.

Firstly, with his natural away movement and 85 Test scalps, Prasad is much more than `a limited overs bowler.' And in the LOIs, he has been among the more consistent performers.Dropping players without plausible reason. The bane of Indian cricket really, snuffing out several careers, leaving many a dream shattered.

Lesser men, often reduced to tears, have packed their bags, ending a painful journey. Prasad keeps coming back.

Yet, deep down, beneath all those layers, he must be wondering `why me alone', `what I have done wrong'. Strange are the ways of the `wise men'.

A `marked man' he certainly appears to be, with the selectors' bullets often bearing his name. Yet, he still wants to make a mark for his beloved India in both forms of the game.

Prasad's exclusion from the one-day series against Australia defied logic - the Karnataka paceman hardly received a fair run in Test cricket either. And now he finds yet another humiliation heaped on him ahead of an overseas campaign. A string of good performances being overlooked, at the cost of a rare off-day. Some pay the price for the occasional bad game, others get away scot free. There is something wrong, somewhere.

The Karnataka paceman had bowled his heart out most part of the season in the one-day internationals, emerging the highest wicket-taker in the ICC Knockout tournament in Kenya, the most important one-day campaign of the year, with eight scalps.

Indeed, Prasad took India to the doorstep of victory over New Zealand in the summit clash with figures of 7-0-27-3 before the explosive Chris Cairns rudely shut the door. Prasad did go for runs in the final of the three-nation tournament in Sharjah when the Lankans cut loose, but recovered well as India outplayed Zimbabwe 4-1 at home, sending down 43 overs, conceding 198 runs, snaring six batsmen.

Creditable in the sub-continental conditions, yet, the paceman found his name missing from the side that took on Australia in the LOIs.

In the only opportunity he received in Tests, on a barren Eden Gardens strip, Prasad was desperately unlucky not to scalp Steve Waugh - the television replays revealed the Aussie captain had been dismissed fair and square.

Prasad eventually ended wicket-less, was dumped for the decider in Chennai. The point is how can a senior bowler be judged on one performance, on a pitch where two of the finest contemporary pacemen Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, went through an entire fourth day's play without striking.

Determined he surely is though, as he revealed in a chat with TheHindu while holidaying with his family at a resort near Chennai. ``I am fit and raring to go. My goal is to take part in the 2003 World Cup, but I also have a lot of Test cricket left in me.''

Indeed, the 31-year-old Prasad is a fine Test match bowler, who could serve India well on the strips abroad, with the country facing a busy `away' schedule. However, the selectors are looking the other way.

With a lovely, high arm action, he can extract bounce - this provides cutting edge to his leg-cutters - bring about subtle changes in pace, can keep chipping away at a batsman. A potent threat, especially on seaming wickets.

Looking back, he should have represented the country in more than 30 Tests and snared more than 85 batsmen. Prasad agrees, but adds quickly, ``I have to make up in the coming years.''The Karnataka bowler began his quest in Test cricket on the right note, with a six-wicket match haul at Edgbaston, followed by five in an innings in the second at Lord's. The year was '96, and Prasad, after a waiting for long in the wings, was off to the right start.

Prasad, making the ball seam both ways, revelled on the bouncy South African wickets in '97, conjuring a 10-wicket match haul in the Durban Test, and by the time the paceman played his 10th Test, he had already prised out 45 batsmen. Subsequently, an inconsistent selection policy has played havoc with his career.

Even during the relatively barren periods, there have been moments when he has sparkled. Remember his devastating spell of 10.2-5-33-6 in the Pakistan second innings of the famous Chennai Test of '99? A telling display of controlled seam and swing bowling it certainly was.

Prasad is still capable of producing such bursts. Ideally, an attack should be a blend of experience and youth, and Prasad with loads of cricket behind him, surely deserves a place.

``I think the peak period for a paceman is between 29 and 31, when he has experience and is also reasonably young,'' says Prasad.

In limited overs cricket also, Prasad is among India's more successful pacemen, with 193 wickets in 159 matches, at an economy rate of 4.65, which is reasonable; he has often operated on the sub-continental tracks.

He is a `thinking' bowler, consuming batsmen with his variations, the slower delivery being the key ball really. However, doesn't he tend to over-bowl the delivery on occasions. Pat comes the reply. ``No I don't think so. On these pitches, you have to keep the batsmen guessing. Otherwise, the bowling gets predictable.''

``I am looking forward to the two landmarks. 100 wickets in Tests and 200 in the one-dayers,'' notes Prasad, who now has to surmount yet another barrier created by the selectors.

Even during times, when success doesn't embrace him, Prasad has always striven to contribute. In the cauldron of the Eden Gardens, the Karnataka paceman endured a painful blow from a Glenn McGrath delivery to add over 50 for the ninth wicket with V.V.S. Laxman in the first innings. India was staring down the barrel then and it was the first sign of a glorious fightback.The man has character. It is time this lion-hearted paceman receives the recognition he so richly deserves in his own land. The broad shouldered Venkatesh Prasad has a lot more to offer.

The selectors don't seem to be listening?

S. DINAKAR

Chennai

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