By Add Prasidh Krishna to a long and illustrious list of Karnataka fast bowlers to have turned out for India.
A wiry frame belies the pace that the lanky bowler—he’s 6ft2—can generate, but Krishna, 25, was always earmarked for better things in life. In 2020, for example, India captain Virat Kohli had said that Krishna “could possibly be an X-factor” for the national team in the shortest format. A year later, Krishna made his debut in the first ODI of the three-match England series with a 136km/hr back-of-the-length delivery to opener Jonny Bairstow.
His debut did not start on a high note as the England openers went on a rampage (to be sure, every India bowler except Bhuvneshwar Kumar was blasted off the park), but Krishna showed his ability to withstand cricket at the highest level when he came back with a superb second spell. He took opener Jason Roy with a short one that came in, and then Ben Stokes—the first two England wickets to fall—at a time when England were scoring at nearly 8.5 runs per over. It could have been three wickets in two overs for Krishna had Kohli not dropped Eoin Morgan at slip the next ball after dismissing Stokes. That over, Krishna’s fifth, ended a wicket maiden, setting up India’s counter-attack.
