Wisden overview
A crafty medium-pacer, Venakatesh Prasad emerged as one of India's sturdiest bowlers in the mid-1990s. At 6ft 4ins and built like a rock, he isn't as fast as big, but makes up for that with the ability to swing the new ball. And he can use the old one with cunning. The slower legcutter, his biggest weapon, is invaluable in the closing stages of a one-day innings. His other great strength lies in bowling at left-handers, and he has been especially effective against Saeed Anwar and Gary Kirsten. Success on his first big tour - to England in 1996 - indicated that a Test bowler had arrived, and he would have many more wickets had he not been treated in such cavalier fashion by the selectors ... and if his slips had stood a bit closer. Rahul Bhattacharya

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