MSK Prasad opens up about arguments with Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri, says ‘sometimes we didn’t want to see each other’

Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee chief MSK Prasad recently opened up about arguments with Team India captain Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri during his tenure. In a virtual interview with cricket.com, Prasad was questioned about how he managed to put his opinion in front of Shastri and Kohli, who are known to be aggressive professionals. In reply to the question, Prasad did not reveal many details on it but stated that they acknowledged each other’s points made in the end.

“Sometimes, we didn’t want to see each other (after meetings) but the beauty of them is that the next morning when we would meet, they would recognise and acknowledge that there is a (merit in the) point we made,” Prasad said. During Prasad’s tenure, many young talents including Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant joined the competition in the senior team. Even, Jasprit Bumrah got the chance in the Test team following which he enjoyed success with the red-ball too. Further in the interaction, the former BCCI selection committee chief explained that he didn’t display any differences with Kohli or Shastri publicly and it also doesn’t mean he was succumbing to them. Prasad was often criticised for his decisions made with the team or management. As he was not an experienced campaigner on the international circuit, Prasad made headlines after picking Vijay Shankar over Ambati Rayudu in the World Cup 2019 squad. Even during Yuvraj Singh’s removal after Champions Trophy 2017, cricket experts were not pleased with the decision taken.