Former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan slammed Prasidh Krishna after India suffered a four-wicket loss against South Africa at Raipur on Wednesday. India could not defend the target of 359 runs after they were put into bat by Temba Bavuma.
Krishna returned with expensive figures of 2-85 in 8.2 overs he bowled in the second game. Khan highlighted that Krishna has been a weak link in India’s bowling in the first two games against the Proteas.
Krishna accounted for Temba Bavuma and Matthew Breetzke but conceded his runs at a high economy rate of 10.20. The lanky pacer from Karnataka conceded 48 runs in 7.2 overs he bowled in the opening ODI at Ranchi and picked up one wicket.
Zaheer Khan said on Cricbuzz, “You don’t have to point out any individual. But Prasidh has been that weak link in the last couple of games. He is not able to figure out exactly how to play that role. That was evident in today’s game as well. His economy was also on the higher side. The captain is then always thinking about how to use your resources and whether he has enough confidence in using Prasidh.”
Khan said Krishna’s off-day didn’t help KL Rahul’s captaincy tactics.
“Otherwise he (Rahul) had that moment where after 35 overs, he could have gone to Arshdeep and Kuldeep and bowled them in tandem. That stage, create more pressure and create a wicket-taking opportunity. He was not able to do that because constantly in the back of his mind, Prasidh’s overs he wanted to get some out right now before it gets too late,” Zaheer added.
The former India’s lead pacer said Krishna’s role is to hit the deck hard and bowl in the right areas.
“His role is a seamer who is going to be ranked 3 in the bowling lineup. So he’s going to be doing the tough job which is first change when the ball is older. You’ve to be able to hit the deck hard and hit the lengths right,” said Zaheer (via the aforementioned source).
The third and final ODI between India and South Africa will be played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, on Saturday.
