Former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad has said that while he appreciated the Indian cricket team's recent Test victory in Australia and the hard work and effort that went into achieving the victory, it was not a real test of the Indian team. He said that Australian side that the Indian faced was not comparable to the Australia of the 1990s.

“In the first place, I appreciate the victory and the efforts that Kohli team put to achieve it. However, the current Australian team is in no way comparable to the one in the 1990s. The Australian squad was far stronger then, with stalwarts like Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, Brett Lee, Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting, than the one we have today. Considering this factor, I would say that India’s recent fight with Australia was not real test,” he said.

Mr. Prasad disagreed with the perception that only cricketers who play in rich and influential clubs enjoy good support and can get into the Indian squad. He said that he was the glaring example to disprove the perception. “I was not part of the rich or influential club. Yet, I could get into Indian squad. Dhoni hadn’t played for rich and influential [clubs] and he became the captain of Indian team. It is the talent and the hard work that lead you to the success,” he said.

Terming the 1983 Cricket World Cup victory as a game-changer, Mr. Prasad said that the victory changed India’s cricket forever by inspiring thousands of youth to take up cricket as their career. “The 1983 Wold Cup victory inspired me. It inspired thousands of young people to choose cricket as their career option. It boosted Indians confidence that we too can win. It also resulted in the expansion of cricket infrastructure in the country,” he said.

Mr. Prasad was addressing a media conference after inaugurating a Canara Bank Retail Expo here on January 10. H.K. Gangadhar, Zonal Manager of Canara Bank, said that the two-day Retail Expo was organised for spreading awareness about the retail loan facilities offered in his bank.

Sunil Joshi, another former Indian cricketer; P. Srinivasa Murthy, former Karnataka State cricketer; and other functionaries of Canara Bank were present.