Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad is celebrating his 54th birthday today. Prasad played 33 Tests and 161 ODIs for Team India from 1996 to 2001. He scalped 96 and 196 wickets in Tests and ODIs, respectively.
After his cricketing career, Prasad turned to coaching and was appointed as the bowling coach of the Indian team in 2007. He has also worked as the bowling coach of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL).
During his playing days, Prasad has given many brilliant bowling performances. However, the standout among those performances was against India’s arch-rival Pakistan during the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal match.
Prasad’s battle against Pakistan’s aggressive opener Aamer Sohail during the all-important quarterfinal match is etched in the memory of Indian fans. The incident remains one of the most talked-about moments in the history of India-Pakistan cricket.
While chasing a challenging total of 288 runs, Sohail helped Pakistan get off to a brisk start. He smashed a boundary off Prasad in the 15th over and sledged the former pacer by mouthing expletives and pointing a finger to the direction.
However, Prasad accepted the challenge from the well-set Sohail. The former pacer retaliated instantly to knock his off-stump off in the very next delivery. No fan will ever forget Prasad’s reaction after that. He gestured Sohail animatedly to get out of the field. A few words were also exchanged between both the players.
Later, during an interaction with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube show, Prasad revealed that some words were exchanged between him and Sohai, something that the former Pakistan captain will never accept.