Follow UsFormer India cricketer Mohammed Kaif pulled no punches while analysing Prasidh Krishna’s performance in the second ODI against South Africa in Raipur, where the hosts failed to defend 359 on a night dominated by dew.
India watched the Proteas march to a record-equalling chase, and Prasidh, who returned figures of 2/85, ended up being the costliest bowler on the field. Despite picking up a couple of wickets, he leaked runs at over 10 an over, attracting heavy criticism for his lack of control and variations. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif questioned Prasidh’s skillset and the clarity in his bowling plans.
“Prasidh was expensive even in the Tests in England. He leaks runs. He is a bowler who does not know his strengths. He is not extremely skilled in any one area. His strength is to hit the deck, but he does not bowl slower ones. This is the only thing he knows. He did work a bit on the variations in the IPL. But international cricket is different. The ball was very wet, so maybe we can give him the benefit of the doubt. It is difficult to bowl with a wet ball for inexperienced bowlers. Here is where you need experienced bowlers,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
He further pointed out the lack of experience in India’s pace attack for the ongoing series, stressing that the absence of senior bowlers has left the younger quicks without mentorship.
“There is less experience in bowling. When this team was picked, I told this. No Bumrah, no Shami, no Siraj. If you want to transition, you have to keep some seniors with the juniors. There are no seniors at all. Prasidh, Arshdeep, Rana – how many games have all of these played? You need senior pacers to tell them things. You have picked a team with a lot of inexperienced pacers,” he said.