Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Indian debutant Prasidh Krishna performed poorly in the first test match against South Africa and could have been replaced in the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era. The Tall right-arm pacer had a tough start to his test career as he managed to take only one wicket while conceding 93 runs in his lone innings of the game.
Prasidh Krishna was expected to trouble the South African batsmen with his ability to extract extra bounce off the surface, but he failed to utilize the conditions and gave away many easy boundaries. The Karnataka pacer struggled to get going on conditions that favoured the bowlers.
Speaking on Espncricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar suggested that Indian cricket fans would not mind if Prasidh Krishna was replaced by Mukesh Kumar in the second test match. He also highlighted that the Indian team management has been ruthless in the past.
“If Mukesh Kumar plays, I don’t think too many people will be unhappy. They will be looking at how he is bowling in the nets and think if it is fair on Prasidh Krishna because that is something the new management cares about, giving a fair run. The earlier team management would have been ruthless. Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri were trigger-happy with such things,” Sanjay Manjrekar said.
With Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the team, Team India has a strong fast bowling attack going into the second test match. However, they will be looking for someone who can bring something fresh and is also suited for the conditions on offer to complete their bowling lineup.
India Is A Little Uncertain About Their Batting And Shardul Thakur Tends To Make The Playing XI – Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the current management, which is led by Rahul Dravid, might handle things differently than the previous management. He thinks that the debutant may get another chance to prove himself in Test cricket and thinks that Thakur will remain in the Indian team due to his batting abilities, especially in overseas conditions.
“These guys might give one more go. But it is a two-match series, so they might be keen to make changes, Shardul Thakur plays because he can bat. He plays especially in foreign conditions because India is always a little wary of their batting, and you saw why India is a little uncertain about their batting, and hence, Shardul Thakur tends to make the playing XI,” Sanjay Manjrekar added.
Both Prasidh and Thakur leaked runs during South Africa’s innings, and Mohammed Siraj also struggled to perform at his usual best in the game. Despite the efforts of Bumrah and Ashwin, India failed to limit the runs and gave away too many runs on the conditions that favoured the bowlers.
