Prasidh Krishna’s impressive debut left the cricketing fraternity in awe-struck. The Karnataka pacer, playing his first ODI, became the first Indian to claim more than three wickets on his ODI debut and in the process recorded the best figures by an Indian playing his maiden ODI.
Prasidh Krishna picked up four wickets conceding 54 runs in the first ODI against England, playing a crucial role in India’s 66-run victory in Pune. Apart from IPL and India’s fine domestic structure, what has played a major role in shaping Prasidh Krishna as a fast bowling prospect for India for the future, are his stints in Australia with the legendary Jeff Thompson.
Prasidh Krishna Got Exposure At Cricket Australia Academy And His Stints With Jeff Thomson Helped: Makarand Waingankar
Prasidh Krishna, who first burst onto the scenes in IPL 2018, after Kolkata Knight Riders signed him up as a replacement for the injured Kamlesh Nagarkoti, always had that extra pace to trouble the batsmen. Against England in 1st ODI, he showed maturity and adaptability beyond his age.
His stints to Australia with the legendary Jeff Thompson have played a major role in shaping Prasidh Krishna as a fast bowling prospect for India for the future. He took up the game at the age of 11 and enjoyed stints in Australia with the legendary Jeff Thomson, the pace icon that many bowlers have grown up wanting to emulate.
It was in 2017 when, as part of the IDBI Federal Bowling Foundation, Prasidh Krishna traveled to Australia along with Tushar Desphande and two others to train with legendary Jeff Thomson. According to Makarand Waingankar, a former cricket administrator and columnist, the training at the Cricket Australia Academy in Brisbane proved extremely beneficial for Prasidh Krishna.
“The exposure Prasidh Krishna got at the CA Academy stood him in good stead and helped improve his skills,” he told PTI.
Makarand Waingankar was all praise for the lanky bowler’s “cricket intelligence” and said it was evident in how he bounced back after being hit for runs in his first three overs in international cricket.
“He is very intelligent…I am talking about his cricket intelligence. This helped him bounce back after a tough start when he was taken apart by the England openers. This showed the boy’s character,” the veteran columnist added.
M Senthilnathan, head coach at the MRF Pace Foundation where he had trained, echoed similar views and said the bowler improved leaps and bounds since he was picked up in 2017 through his hard work.
“We selected him in 2017. He had done well for Karnataka in a game against the touring Bangladesh ‘A’ side in 2015 and that got him noticed. After he came to the MRF Academy we worked on his physical side, he did gym work and we worked on his skills. He works very hard on his game,” he added.
Prasidh Krishna Took Up Cricket At 11 And Did Well In School Cricket: Father
The academy head coach hailed pacer Prasidh Krishna’s mental strength which helped him fight back after a tough initiation into international cricket.
“The beauty is that he came back very strongly after being hit…He fought back, stuck to the basics and did not over-try which brought him success,” Senthilnathan added.
Prasidh Krishna’s father was a cricketer too and played for the college team.
“Prasidh started playing at the age of 11 and did well in school cricket as an all-rounder. At the age of 14, he became serious about fast bowling. The family has supported him in his endeavours,” Krishna Senior said from Bengaluru.
“He is a huge fan of Brett Lee and likes to bowl fast and with fire like him. And, he loves masala dosa,” he added, fondly revealing his son’s favourites.
Prasidh Krishna was picked in 18 member ODI squad for the first time along with Suryakumar Yadav and Krunal Pandya for 3 ODIs. The right-arm pace bowler was picked for the three-match ODI series against England. Prasidh Krishna’s domestic performances have been impressive. He was a driving force behind Karnataka winning the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day titles in 2017-18 and 2019-20.
He was the second-highest wicket-taker (17) in the 2017-18 edition, and also picked 17 scalps in the 2019-20 edition. In the just-concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, he was among the top five wicket-takers with 14 scalps and helped Karnataka reach the semi-finals where they lost to eventual champions Mumbai.
Prasidh Krishna has played 24 matches in three IPL seasons and taken 18 wickets.