With Mohammed Shami unavailable, India gave debut to Prasidh Krishna during their first Test of the ongoing two-match series against South Africa in Centurion.
They were hoping that on a bouncy track, Krishna will be able to take advantage of his height and prove to be quite a challenge for the South African batters. Additionally, he had taken a five-wicket haul during an unofficial Test between India A and South Africa A in the lead up to the series.
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However, the 27-year-old struggled to find the right line and length in Centurion as he conceded 93 runs for a solitary wicket in 20 overs with India suffering an innings defeat.
“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 news agency PTI.
Ahead of his Test debut, Krishna had played just 12 first-class matches and the lack of experience was clearly on show in Centurion.
India have added Avesh Khan to their Test squad ahead of the 2nd Test that starts from January 3 in Cape Town. He replaces Mohammed Shami who was ruled out of the tour due to an injury.
The former India cricketer says while Avesh is a similar bowler like Krishna, having played red-ball cricket regularly could put him in a good stead should he get a game in Cape Town.
“The problem is India’s next generation of pacers don’t evoke the same kind of excitement and confidence that (Jasprit) Bumrah, Shami, Ishant (Sharma) and (Mohammed) Siraj produced,” he said.
“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.
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