Asian Games a missed opportunity, feels CWG player Prasad

Commonwealth Games cricketer, MSK Prasad, says Asian Games is a missed opportunity for Team India.

Mannava Sri Kanth Prasad, the former Andhra Pradesh wicketkeeper-batsman, was a member of the Indian team that was sent to Kuala Lumpur for the Commonwealth Games in 1998 under the leadership of Ajay Jadeja.

It remains the only team okayed by the Board of Control for India to play in a multidiscipline sports event. India legend Sachin Tendulkar was also part of the team.

Prasad said he was disappointed to learn that the Indian cricket board is not sending its team to participate in the Asian Games in China.

"It would have been a wonderful experience for the players to stay and play with players from other sports. We had thoroughly enjoyed our trip to CWG in Malaysia in 1998," he said from Tirupati.

"Indian players will certainly miss this chance now," he added.

The Indian cricket board was that time criticised for sending a weak team. "I don't think we could term it a 'second grade' team. No country would like to send second grade players to an event like CWG. I feel BCCI's hands were tied as they were also committed to play in Toronto. The ICC's international calender is prepared 3-4 years in advance and perhaps there could have been political pressure to send a team to CWG, which may have not been known to the board earlier," he added.

It did not help that the Indian team did not fare well. "Yes, the Indian team could not win but our performance was not as bad as it looked. Few of our matches where our team was doing well, were rained off and it hurt our chances," said Prasad.

The CWG matches were played over 50 overs, and had List A status. Sixteen teams entered the competition, including seven of the then nine Test-playing nations. Australia sent a high-quality squad while India and Pakistan sent weakened teams as a result of a clash with the 1998 Sahara Cup. South Africa, which had Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis and Herschelle Gibbs, won the gold medal.

(This writer is a freelancer)