India pacer Prasidh Krishna had a torrid outing in the first Test against South Africa earlier this year. In the absence of Mohammed Shami, Krishna made his Test debut at the SuperSport Park in Centurion as India lost the match by an innings and 32 runs against the Proteas. The 27-year-old conceded 90 runs in 20 overs and picked up just one wicket. Following India’s defeat, several current and former players criticised Krishna for his wayward line and length in the match.
However, a former India pacer has claimed that Krishna doesn’t have the skills to play Test cricket.
“Poor Prasidh…The kid isn’t ready for Test cricket. He doesn’t have skills to bowl second and third spells yet. They went with him based on his ability to hit the deck. But they forgot when has he last played a proper season of Ranji Trophy? Just one India A game isn’t enough,” a former India bowler told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Ahead of the second Test in Gqenerha, the selection committee named Avesh Khan as the injured Shami’s replacement for the series-decider.
Avesh is likely to replace Krishna in the playing XI, but the former India pacer feels that both players are quite similar.
“The problem is India’s next generation of pacers don’t evoke the same kind of excitement and confidence that Bumrah, Shami, Ishant and Siraj produced. Avesh is same type of bowler like Prasidh but plays red ball cricket more regularly. So he might hit better lengths. Navdeep Saini is still playing India A for six years. That tells you the story,” he added.
Avesh was a member of India’s ODI team that recently faced the Proteas, but the bowler is yet to make his Test debut.
In the ODI series against the Proteas the pacer played a match-winning role in the series opener at The Wanderers in Johannesburg.
He took 4/27 and severely harmed South Africa’s batting order, causing the Proteas to be bowled out for 116 in 27.3 overs. India knocked down the goal in 17 overs and won the game by an eight-wicket margin.
India’s squad for 2nd Test: India’s squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk), Abhimanyu Easwaran and Avesh Khan.
(With PTI Inputs)
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