There was a time when Prasidh Krishna seemed destined to be the next big thing in Indian fast bowling.
In 2017, then chairman of selectors MSK Prasad told a group of journalists that the tall Karnataka pacer was one to watch. Prasidh had the height, pace and bounce that made him different. But turning promise into a sustained international career proved considerably harder.
He made his ODI debut in 2021, his Test debut two years later, and by the time he turned 30, he had played only eight Tests. Injuries repeatedly interrupted his progress, while his tendency to leak runs made him an easy target whenever things went wrong.
The talent was never really in question. The consistency was.
On Tuesday in Colombo, however, Prasidh offered another glimpse of what India have long believed he can become. SL vs IND, 2nd Test Day 3: Highlights | Scorecard
On a pitch where India had piled up 503/9, there was not much for the fast bowlers to work with. Yet Prasidh, operating with Mohammed Siraj, found a way to make the surface talk. He bowled hard lengths, extracted bounce and, crucially, maintained enough control to keep Sri Lanka’s batters uncomfortable.
His first wicket came on Monday, when a back-of-a-length delivery straightened off the pitch and took the edge of Lahiru Udara, with Yashasvi Jaiswal completing a sharp catch.
On Tuesday morning, Prasidh showed another aspect of his evolution. He kept bowling at pace and repeatedly hit the hard length, making Kamil Mishara play and then play again. The Sri Lankan left-hander was eventually beaten for bounce and edged behind. It was lovely to see the tall fast bowler stick to a plan and show patience before the left-handed Kamil fell to his trap.
By the close, Prasidh had figures of 3/47 from 14 overs as Sri Lanka limped to 265/8, still 238 runs behind India’s first-innings 503.
More important than the numbers was the manner in which he bowled. There was no desperate search for wickets, no attempt to manufacture something every ball. He kept returning to his strength, hitting the deck hard and making his height work for him.
It was precisely that aspect of Prasidh’s bowling that impressed India bowling coach Morne Morkel. But Morkel was equally interested in what had changed away from the pitch.
“The spell showed the character of Prasidh. He has the media on his back, the commentators on his back, to fight through thatand his bowling at the moment is very impressive,” Morkel said after the day’s play.
For years, Prasidh had seemed to be battling two opponents: the batter at the other end and the noise surrounding him.
“It is about quieting those voices and just playing cricket. As a team, we always knew about his potential. As soon as you get into this environment, you want to impress a billion cricket fans, you are under the microscope, every movement gets analysed, and sometimes you try and fight against those elements,” Morkel said.
“But Prasidh, for me, the biggest change is just to let go of all those thoughts, all those comments that are made on himhe is just enjoying his cricket.”
That may be the most significant change in Prasidh’s game.
His career has not followed a straight line. He made his Test debut against South Africa in December 2023 after a lengthy lay-off caused by a lumbar stress fracture. His maiden Test series yielded only two wickets, and he was expensive. A severe quadriceps injury then kept him out of the 2024 IPL and delayed his return to Test cricket.
When he came back, he showed what the investment could eventually produce.
He took six wickets in the Sydney Test against Australia and then emerged as one of India’s key performers during the 2025 England tour. His 14 wickets came at a cost, but the eight-wicket haul in the fifth Test at The Oval was a reminder that his particular skill set could change games.
The IPL offered another important marker. Prasidh won the Purple Cap in 2025 after taking 25 wickets for Gujarat Titans. He took another 16 wickets in the 2026 season.
And now, with his body allowing him a longer run, the numbers in Test cricket are beginning to look more convincing too. In the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, he took three wickets, including 2/16 in the second innings. He added another three in Colombo.
There is a reason his numbers do not always tell the complete story.
RISK PLUS REWARD
Prasidh’s role is not necessarily to be the most economical bowler in the attack. His value lies in creating something when the pitch is offering little – using his extra pace, bounce and hard lengths to make batters play differently.
“Prasidh has got that extra pace and bounce, so we are going to use him in certain phases where it might be risky but we might get the reward as well,” Morkel said.
That risk-reward equation was particularly evident during the 2025 England tour.
“There were a lot of times, I think back in England (2025), where we had to put our hand up because we were asking the boy to do a certain job. Although the results sometimes might not go his way, the whole team is behind him.”
“That is all that matters is how we sort of get around him when we move away and sit in a hotel to talk through those things and answer the questions that he might have and we give him clarity and confidence going into that.”
“It is sometimes a tough job, a donkey job. But I think he has done that very well for us in the last two or three years. His game has also grown now and he can hit that fuller length much more consistently, which is great to see,” he said.
There is another reason to believe Prasidh is beginning to understand his own game better: the way experts describe him has changed.
A DIFFERENT THREAT
Speaking on Sony Sports after his spell in Colombo, Sanjay Manjrekar focused on precisely what makes Prasidh different.
“It wasn’t just about the ball rising, it also seams away. On a dead pitch, this is how the West Indies pace greats used to get batters out on their backfoot. India have found an extraordinary bowler, in the sense he is a second or third bowler, who is wicket-taking as well.”
Manjrekar’s point went beyond the three wickets. Prasidh gives India a different type of threat.
“But, he is completely different proposition to the batter when you put him alongside someone like Mohammed Siraj or Jasprit Bumrah. Because, this is your hit-the-deck kind of bowler that you find in South Africa and Australia. He has brought back memories of all those great bowlers, who bend their back and trouble the batters with deliveries that rise. Lots to like about him.”
It is perhaps the most telling description of where Prasidh now stands. For years, Indian cricket was waiting for the promise to become production. The injuries did not help. Neither did the scrutiny. Every expensive spell became another reason to question whether his natural gifts could translate consistently at international level.
Now, at 30, Prasidh appears less interested in answering those questions.He is simply bowling.
And, as Morkel put it, he is beginning to “grow and develop into a world class bowler”.
“I think for India, in all formats, he has the potential and talent to play for a very long time,” Morkel said.
– Ends
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