Former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra has praised Prasidh Krishna for bowling a match-winning spell in the third ODI against Afghanistan. He added that the pacer has been trolled a lot, with critics even saying that he is being played because he is part of the Gujarat Titans (GT) team in the IPL. Krishna registered figures of 5/23 in 8.2 overs as India bundled out Afghanistan for 218 in Chennai on Saturday, June 20, and India then achieved the target with nine wickets and 21.2 overs in hand to complete a 3-0 series win.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Prasidh Krishna was given the new ball against Australia in Indore in 2023. He had taken wickets with the new ball there as well. However, he didn’t get the new ball at all after that. He didn’t get a chance to play. We were checking who has taken the most wickets for India in their first series.”
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“Prasidh Krishna’s name was there in that list as well. He had taken six wickets in his first series, and Gurnoor Brar took seven this time. However, how many chances has he got after that? Very few. He has been trolled many times as to why Prasidh is played. They say he is being played because of the Gujarat lobby. By the way, he is not from Gujarat. He is from Karnataka,” he further added.
However, Aakash Chopra added that it’s not easy to take a five-wicket haul in limited-overs cricket as well.
“We had said long ago that this Krishna would become Prasidh, and he is bowling well. He bowled full, got the ball to swing, and induced outside edges. He was brilliant. It’s not easy to take a five-wicket haul in white-ball cricket, and he did that. The first two overs were maidens. Height, pace, extra bounce, and sideways movement. I think sideways movement was the differentiator because he has always had height and bounce. The ability to bowl full, get the ball to swing a little, and to deliver on the seam with backspin, those things stood out. It was an important series for him,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
