Coming off the back of a good debut series against the men’s ODI World Champions England, Prasidh Krishna’s turned his focus to IPL 2021, where he will turn out for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Karnataka pacer, who did not have the best season in UAE for KKR in 2020, stole the headlines on debut with a fiery second spell which saw him finish with 4/54, becoming the best figures by a male Indian cricketer in 24 years, surpassing off-spinner Noel David’s 3/21 against West Indies in 1997.
“I was fortunate to play the champions in my debut series. It was really hard at times and now I have a taste of what international cricket is going to be like. Yes, I had some difficult and good moments, and it tells me that the harder you work and the calmer you are you can get through situations,” Krishna told The Quint.
“Feel my ability to remain calm and composed in all situations is the biggest strength.”
“I didn't start off well, they went hard, but we took wickets in a cluster. I just wanted to hit good areas, I thought after the third over I can't bowl full and hit the good lengths. As a bowling unit, we were outstanding today. I want to be called a hit-the-deck bowler, I think I'm better at it. I will go back, work on my lengths, and come back. I hope I can do it for the team for long. From the beginning even if we are going for runs, the talk was to pick up a wicket,” Krishna, who has trained with the likes of Glenn McGrath and Jeff Thomson, said after his debut.
Krishna finished the series with 6 wickets from 3 games, having conceded more than 50 runs in each of the contests, in what was a high-scoring set of matches. The 25-year-old’s ability to bounce back in the manner in which he did on his first day at work earned him high praise from all corners.
Confident and calm after helping win the ODI series in Pune, Krishna, who had a good domestic season too, will hope to make his mark in the IPL. In three years with KKR, Krishna has picked 18 wickets, 10 coming in 2018 from 7 games.
KKR begin their campaign in Chennai against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on 11 April and Krishna, known to be a keen learner from the early days in Bangalore, is raring to go.
“Heading into IPL 2021, we’ve all had a lot more cricket (than in IPL 2020), the domestic season and then the England ODIs for me. I have been bowling a lot and want to be able to take the team into the playoffs first. I’ve been trying to be consistent and want to help the team get over the line.”
“We need to be as consistent as we can and execute all our deliveries well, that’s one of the most important things for bowlers in today’s game. If we can execute our plans it will be good for us,” Krishna asserted.
The fast bowler, like every other cricketer has had to go through the unique experience of living in bio-secure environments during the coronavirus pandemic. And while the lockdown afforded him some time off, he’s grateful for his current situation.
“I’m really grateful that all of us are getting to play cricket when there are others who are at home and stuck. So, I think we need to enjoy the situation now.” he signed off.
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