After Aakash Chopra and Venkatesh Prasad clashed publicly on Twitter over KL Rahul's place in the India squad, fans exposed the former for what they alleged was his close relationship with Suniel Shetty.

Prominent actor Suniel Shetty is the father-in-law of KL Rahul who is married to his daughter Athiya Shetty.

Indian cricket fans, who have been highly critical of KL Rahul's on-field performances, have brought to light an old video of Aakash Chopra calling Suniel Shetty a “father figure”.

Supporters of the India team pointed to Aakash Chopra's link with Suniel Shetty, suggesting that was the reason behind his defense of KL Rahul.

“Ana! Mentor, big brother, father figure and my guide,” Aakash Chopra could be heard saying as he introduced Suniel Shetty in the video.

In another video, Aakash Chopra and Suniel Shetty could be seen discussing the Indian Cricket Team's playing XI. “Rohit, Rahul are absolutely perfect,” says the latter before adding the “superior there is 100 percent [certain to start].”

With the clips taking the internet by storm, netizens criticized Aakash Chopra for spreading his agenda while endorsing KL Rahul to remain a part of the national team.

How can you give an honest opinion about KL Rahul when you call his father in law a father figure? He should have disclosed his conflict of interest to the people before taking the high ground and calling @venkatesprasad an agenda rower.pic.twitter.com/ZGFwjXKtse

— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) February 21, 2023

Very true, doctor saab, it may be that this is why you are defending KL so vigorously amidst all the ruins.

— Navin Tantiya (@TantiyaNavin) February 22, 2023

Sirs @cricketasash agenda to defend KL Rahul

—Ravi Soni (@theravi_soni) February 21, 2023

Even they are deciding their playing XI. Look who's got an agenda. pic.twitter.com/VbE3Z143tP

— SURAJ GARTIA (@SurajGartia) February 22, 2023

@cricketasash father figure now people will understand. #AakashChopra #KLRahul https://t.co/H5PgJz8LqT

— kartik (@warlock9116) February 22, 2023

Since last week, Aakash Chopra and Venkatesh Prasad have criticized each other in a protracted debate over KL Rahul, which turned murkier on Tuesday.

After Aakash Chopra labeled Venkatesh Prasad an agenda pusher due to his continuous attacks on out-of-form India opener KL Rahul, the latter hit back at the former and even declined his offer to have a one-on-one discussion on the matter. . .

“I am not saying that KL Rahul will become like Rohit Sharma but I humbly ask you to remain calm. If there are agendas, let's not row them. Let's talk about the numbers that are actually there and not the ones that fit your thoughts,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

However, Aakash Chopra's comments were not well received by Venkatesh Prasad, who immediately responded to him on Twitter.

“So my friend Aakash Chopra, after making a vile YouTube video this morning calling me an agenda pusher, conveniently and cleverly misquoting me, knocks out the Mayank average of 70 at home, wants to gag views that don't they are in line with what he believes. but he wanted Rohit to leave,” Venkatesh Prasad wrote on the microblogging site.

“I don't have an agenda against any player, maybe there are others who do. Difference of opinions is fine, but calling conflicting views a personal agenda apna and Twitter par mat laayein is fun for Aakash Chopra, considering he's made quite the career of airing his views. I have nothing against KL or any other player, my voice has been against unfair selection and different criteria for artists. Whether it is Sarfaraz or Kuldeep, they have spoken on the basis of merit. But it was disappointing to see Aakash call it a personal agenda,” he added.

“This is what Aakash had issued when Rohit was 24 years old with 4 years in cross country. You can use sarcasm for Rohit at 24, and I can't point to Rahul's poor performance at 31 with 8 years in international cricket. Yeh bhi sahi hai”.

But Aakash Chopra claims that his former teammate from India misinterpreted his words.

“Venky bhai, the messages are lost in translation. Here. me on yt I invite you to come to a video chat… we can do it live. Difference of opinions is nice… let's get it right. I will have no sponsors and no one will make money from it. Ready for it? You have my number,” Aakash Chopra tweeted.

Venkatesh Prasad, however, declined his invitation. “No Aakash, nothing is lost in translation. In your 12-minute video you call me an agenda peddler because it didn't fit your narrative. It's crystal clear. And I've made my points very clear in this Twitter thread. I don't want to get involved with you in this anymore.”

The shocking saga between Aakash Chopra and Venkatesh Prasad began last week when the former Indian bowling coach's harsh words against KL Rahul garnered a response from the former.

Aakash Chopra suggested that Venkatesh Prasad could have waited until the end of the second innings of the Test match in Delhi to launch his last attack against the Karnataka batsman.

“And the torrid race continues. More to do with the rigidity of management to persist with a player who just hasn't looked good. No top batsman in at least the last 20 years of Indian cricket has played so many Tests at such a low average,” Venkatesh Prasad tweeted after KL Rahul's failure in the first innings of the second Test in Delhi.

To this, Aakash Chopra replied, “Venky Bhai, Test match chal raha hai. How about at least waiting for the two innings to finish? All of us are on the same team i.e. Team India. I'm not asking you to hold your thoughts, but the timing could be a little better. After all, our game is all about time.”

“It honestly doesn't matter, Aakash. In my opinion it is a very fair criticism even if he scored half a century in the second inning. And between the match or after the match is irrelevant here. Best wishes for your beautiful videos on YT, I enjoy them,” Venkatesh Prasad said in his reply to Aakash Chopra's post.

He said that his criticism of KL Rahul was not a personal agenda, and that he was one of his supporters.

Venkatesh Prasad then advised KL Rahul to play county cricket in England because scoring on pitches that help seam movement and in conditions where the ball moves a lot would boost his confidence and make him a much safer batsman.

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

On Monday, Venkatesh Prasad shared his views on this development before comparing KL Rahul to the underdog Ajinkya Rahane, who was dropped from the squad last year after a prolonged fall with the bat.

“With KL retained for the remaining 2 test matches, if they pick him out of the 11 players, Indore is their best chance to get back into shape and silence critics like me. Else needs to play county cricket, perform well and come back in the Test side,” she said.

“And if overseas performance is any yardstick, Ajinkya Rahane, despite being out of shape and also inconsistent before being dropped, had one of the best overseas Test records, averaging over 40 in abroad in 50 test matches. He was out of shape and he fell over,” argued the former Indian fast bowler.

“There is an opinion that KL Rahul has an excellent overseas test record. But the statistics speak otherwise. He has a Test average of 30 abroad in 56 innings. He scored 6 centuries abroad, but followed with a series of low scores, which is why he averaged 30”, concluded Venkatesh Prasad.

The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team currently leads the four-match Test series against Australia 2-0 after posting sweeping wins in Nagpur and Delhi.

The third Test between the two sides will kick off on March 1 in Indore where Team India will look to seal the series with another win over Pat Cummins and his men.