The Cricket Interview/Venkatesh Prasad
"I'm more comfortable bowling to right-handers"
Coming back to your career, you debuted at age 26. Do you think that was a bit late?
I can't say whether it was the right time for me to debut but yes, I did start my cricket career a shade late. In fact, I did not play cricket at all till I was 19. Since I entered the national side, though, I have been doing well, so that's okay.
South African captain Hansje Cronje rates the Srinath-Prasad duo as one of the best in international cricket. What is the secret of your success as a pair?
It is true that Srinath and I bowl better in tandem. We have bowled together for a long time, starting with the state team, we are used to each other. Srinath is one of the fastest bowlers in the world, he has played county cricket, he is enormously experienced. We discuss our bowling during the game, between sessions, we talk to each other about how to bowl to different batsmen, how to work on them, when we bowl together one of us is attacking, the other is keeping things tight at the other end. I guess we understand each other very well.
In the absence of you and Srinath, Harvinder Singh and Debashish Mohanty have come up and bowled well for India in Toronto and Pakistan. What do you think of their bowling?
They are good, I watched them bowl in Canada, they bowled really well and the wicket gave them a lot of help. Mohanty in fact was my room-mate in Sri Lanka so I got to know him very well. I think he is a very good prospect.
Suddenly, India seems to be producing talented young quick bowlers. Is this the beginning of a trend?
Maybe. It is true there are a lot of quick bowlers coming up, suddenly. But for that reason, I think we must also change the nature of wickets in India. I am not saying that we should prepare fast wickets -- but they should prepare good, competitive wickets that give equal chances to the bowlers and batsmen. That is how bowlers come up.
I think the curators of the various grounds have to know how to make such wickets. Sometimes, curators and groundsmen tell me the wicket at a particular ground is fast. Then I go out there and find that the wicket doesn't really help anyone. Which is why I think that at times they don't know what they are doing. I really think that we need to change the nature of the wickets, that is how we can develop and encourage quality bowlers.
Another way of building standards, they say, is for international players to play more domestic cricket, what do you think?
Well, maybe, but given the kind of international schedule we have got, I don't see what we can do about it.
But would you say domestic competition needs to be toned up?
Yes, of course. The board has to give it a lot of attention, the players also need to take it more seriously.
What do you think of the role being played by private academies, like MRF?
They are doing a very good job. MRF came up with its pace foundation ten years ago, when we really needed quality fast bowlers, and in this time they have contributed bowlers like Vivek Razdan, Subroto Bannerjee, Srinath, myself, a few others. With Dennis Lille as the expert and T A Shekhar as head coach, they are throwing up a lot of talented young bowlers.
But that means you are going to face competition from several people for a place in the side, how does that feel?
It is very healthy sign, really, it means that no one can take his place in the side for granted, everyone has to give his best, or lose his place to someone else.
Are you saying that earlier, bowlers who were sure of their place got lazy, didn't perform to their best?
No, not 'lazy' actually, but yes, sometimes you tend to take your place for granted, which is not good for you or the side. That is why I feel there should always be competition. Everyone then has to perform. By the same token, I also believe that it is wrong to expect instant results, people should be given time to perform. It is like they say, form is temporary but class is permanent. So you should judge based on both.
India had a hectic schedule last year, there is an equally hectic season coming up. How do you cope, physically and in terms of family?
That is our job, I don't complain about it. Why just me, I don't think anyone should complain about it. When there is a game or a tour, we just have to go out there and perform.
And how about family, your time with them...?
Look, when you chose this as a profession, you have to take the good with the bad, you can't complain about only one aspect. Sure, I do get limited time with my family, but I make the best of what I do get. Also, my wife, Jayanti, is also working, she is senior manager with Titan Industries, so she too has demands on her time. So we manage.
The need for a foreign coach is being debated today, what are your views on the subject?
Well, we do need a professional trainer, whether Indian or foreign, the appointment of one will do a lot of good for the side. The Indian team is very young and very talented, I am sure we will do very well.
In Lanka earlier this year, our bowlers were mauled by Jayasuriya and company, what was the reason for the rather dismal performance?
If you are talking of that Test match where they scored all those runs, well, we batted first and declared because we were looking to force some kind of result. Our approach was positive. But as it turned out, the wicket was slow, in fact, it was a totally dead track, it was impossible for bowlers, fast or slow, to take 20 wickets on that one. If the wicket does not help bowlers at all for five days, there is nothing anyone can do, I for one don't think it was a 'dismal performance' as you call it.
No regrets about the way the Lankan batsmen batted on and on?
No, the regret was only about the state of the wicket.
Among the batsmen you have bowled to thus far, who do you rate as the best?
Lots of them, it is really difficult to compare. But I would rate Rahul Dravid Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Arvinda D'Silva, Brian Lara, people like that. Mainly because they are very confident, very positive in their approach, those kinds are the hardest to bowl to because they always try to dominate you.
Are you uncomfortable bowling to the left-hander?
Not that, so much as I am more comfortable bowling to right handers, because then my leg-cutters are leaving the bat, makes it difficult for them.
Career Record:
TESTS
(including 09/08/1997)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting 17 23 9 69 15 4.92 - - 3 -
O M R W Ave Best 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 616.4 132 1840 57 32.28 6-104 5 1 64.9 2.98
ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS
(including 24/08/1997)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting 75 30 17 74 19 5.69 - - 23 -
O M R W Ave Best 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 624.5 32 3003 88 34.12 4-17 2 - 42.6 4.80
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