Ex-India pacer Venkatesh Prasad continued to make headlines for his comments about out-of-form opening batter KL Rahul. Besides hitting out at the under-fire Team India player, Venkatesh Prasad slammed the think-tank, comprising captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, and the national selectors backing him.

Venkatesh Prasad alleged that the Indian team management's decisions were wrought with “favoritism”, considering they have backed KL Rahul despite his well-documented struggles across formats.

His sharp words against KL Rahul even got a response from former India opener Aakash Chopra who suggested that Venkatesh Prasad could have waited till the end of the second innings of the Test match in Delhi to launch his latest attack on the under-fire Karnataka batter.

“And the torrid run continues. More to do with rigidity of the management to persist with a player who just hasn’t looked the part. No top order batsman in atleast last 20 years of Indian cricket has played these many tests with such a low average,” Venkatesh Prasad had tweeted after KL Rahul's failure in the first innings of the second Test in Delhi.

To this, Aakash Chopra responded: “Venky Bhai, Test match chal raha hai. How about, at least, waiting for both the innings to get over. All of us are in the same team i.e. Team India. Not asking you to hold back your thoughts but timing could be a little better. After all, our game is all about the timing.”

“Honestly doesn’t matter , Aakash. In my view it is very fair criticism even if he scores a half century in the second innings . And between the match or after the match is irrelevant here. Best wishes for your lovely videos on YT, i do enjoy them,” Venkatesh Prasad said in his reply to Aakash Chopra's post.

The former India bowling coach said his criticism of KL Rahul was not a personal agenda, and he was one of his well-wishers.

Venkatesh Prasad then advised KL Rahul to play county cricket in England because scoring on pitches that aid seam movement and in conditions where the ball moves a lot would boost his confidence, and he would become a much more assured batter.

“A few people thinking I have something personal against KL Rahul. Infact it is the opposite. I wish well for him and playing him in such form was never going to enhance his confidence. For him to earn his place back in Test cricket, now that the domestic season has ended. Rahul needs to play County cricket in England , score runs and earn his place back, much like Pujara did when he was dropped. Playing Test Cricket for the country and doing everything possible to get back in form will be the best answer. But will it be possible to skip the IPL?” Venkatesh Prasad posted on the microblogging platform.

Despite his repeated failures, KL Rahul was named in the squad for the last two Test matches against the Australian cricket team, announced on Sunday.

On Monday, Venkatesh Prasad shared his views on this development before comparing KL Rahul with out-of-favor Ajinkya Rahane, who was removed from the side last year after a prolonged slump with the bat.

“With KL being retained for the remaining 2 test matches, if he is picked in the playing 11, Indore is his best chance of coming back to form and silencing critics like me. Else needs to play county cricket, perform well and make a comeback in the Test side,” he said on Twitter.

“And if overseas performance is a criteria, Ajinkya Rahane despite being out of form and also inconsistent before being dropped had obe of the best overseas Test record, averaging over 40 overseas in 50 test matches. Was out of form and dropped,” the ex-India fast bowler argued.

“There is a view that KL Rahul has an outstanding overseas Test record. But stats speak otherwise. He has a test avg of 30 overseas in 56 innings. He has scored 6 overseas centuries but followed it up with a string of low scores that’s why averaging 30,” Venkatesh Prasad pointed out.

In his last seven knocks, KL Rahul has failed to cross the 25-run mark. Following scores of 22, 23, 10, and 2 against Bangladesh in December, KL Rahul has produced three dismal outings against Australia – collecting 20, 17, and 1 in the Tests in Nagpur and Delhi.

This is precisely the reason behind Venkatesh Prasad's continuous criticism of the 30-year-old India batter.

Previously, Prasad had questioned the logic behind keeping KL Rahul in the national squad, especially when he has become a liability for the team.

“I have a lot of regard for KL Rahul’s talent and ability, but sadly his performances have been well below par. A test average of 34 after 46 tests and more than 8 years in international cricket is ordinary. Can’t think of many who have been given so many chances. Especially when there are so many waiting in the wings & in top form. Shubman Gill is in sublime form, Sarfaraz has been scoring tons in FC cricket and many who deserve a chance ahead of Rahul. Some are just lucky to be given chances endlessly till they succeed while some aren’t allowed to,” Venkatesh Prasad wrote on social media.

“And to make matters worse, Rahul is the designated vice-captain. Ashwin has a great cricketing brain, should be the vice captain in the Test format. If not him should be Pujara or Jadeja. Mayank Agarwal had a far better impact than Rahul in Tests and so did Vihari,” the former India bowling coach added.

“Rahul’s selection is not based on performance but favouritism . Has been consistently inconsistent and for someone who has been around for 8 years not converted potential into performances,” Venkatesh Prasad continued.

In his no-holds-barred rant, Venkatesh Prasad even slammed former cricketers who he claimed were not harsh in criticizing KL Rahul because he was the captain of an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise and these experts were worried about losing out on contracts if they blasted the skipper of the Lucknow Super Giants.

“One of the reasons why many ex-cricketers aren’t vocal despite seeing such favouritism is the chances of losing out on potential IPL gigs. They wouldn’t want to rub the captain of a franchisee wrong way, as in today’s age most people like yes men and blind approvers. Often well wishers are your best critics but times have changed & people don’t want to be told truth,” Venkatesh Prasad wrote in another tweet.