Prasidh Krishna can play SENA Tests amid uncertainty over Bumrah & Shami’s fitness, says childhood coach

Prasidh Krishna had no praisers after the Headingley Test. Although he took 5 wickets, his economy was 6.28. Those are white-ball numbers. His lack of control was one of the biggest reasons why India was able to put any pressure on England.

Prasidh Krishan’s learning curve

At Edgbaston, there was improvement. Although he took just 1 wicket, Prasidh was more in control of his line and length. His economy was 2.78 in the second innings, as he provided help to Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj.

But he was outperformed by Akash and was rested at Lord’s and Old Trafford. Having learnt from his mistakes, Prasidh, along with Siraj, bowled India to victory at the Oval and salvaged the series. In the first innings, his economy was the lowest of all bowlers.

Prasidh had shown massive improvement. In the second innings, he got Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, and Josh Tongue. Siraj did the heavy lifting, but he wasn’t far behind. He too bowled 27 overs, took 8 wickets, and was regularly around the 140 mark.

A regular in SENA nations

After his career-best performance, Prasidh’s childhood coach, P. Srinivasa Murthy, thinks he can be India’s third pacer away from home, especially in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries. His reasons are that Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami may not regularly play, and therefore, Prasidh, with his wicket-taking ability, can be a great asset.

“We are not sure how regularly Jasprit Bumrah can play, as is the case with Mohammed Shami. Krishna’s performance in this series should give confidence to the team management that he can be invested in, especially when it comes to playing Tests in SENA countries,” the coach told the Times of India.

Needs to work on fitness

Prasidh’s style of bowling may not be that effective in India. As a hit-the-deck bowler, he usually thrives on pitches that have bounce and seam movement. Neither of these is generally present on Indian pitches.

“I’m sure that the selection committee probably won’t make him play Tests in Indian conditions. Siraj will be your number one pacer alongside Bumrah. Krishna’s chances of playing Test cricket in India will be very far and very few, for which he needs to be mentally prepared.

In the meantime, he wants his protégé to work on his fitness. Prasidh was tired at various times at the Oval, but his speeds didn’t dip. Murthy wants him to get even stronger and fit like his bowling partner, Siraj.

The same thing happened with Srinath, who used to be majorly benched alongside Venkatesh Prasad in India. I would want Krishna to become stronger and super fit, just like Siraj. If he continues being lanky, there will always be issues related to his back,” he added.