Venkatesh Prasad, the right arm medium fast bowler, was born on August 5, 1969 at Bangalore in Karnataka. He had a deep interest in cricket during his childhood. He participated in school-level cricket tournaments.

In the Ranji Trophy, he played for Karnataka. His performance in the trophy was very good. His good performances caught the eyes of the selectors of the Indian cricket team. His debut in O.D.I, cricket was against New Zealand at Christchurch in 1993-94.

His Test debut was against England at Birmingham in 1996.Tall and proportionately built, Prasad’s great strength is that he can move the ball both ways. Prasad has achieved better figures in more helpful conditions abroad than at home.

His most devastating spell came at Chennai in the first Test in January 1999 when he brought the Pakistan’s second innings to a halt with figures of six for 33. Prasad’s effective seam bowling has been invaluable to the country in the shorter version of the game.