Another match and another dazzle. India’s happy problem was revamped by rogue fast bowler Prasad Krishna – an admirer of Brett Lee and Masala Dosa who received some top guidance from none other than Jeff Thomson in his journey to the highest level. Krishna scored 4/54 in the opening ODI against England in Pune on Tuesday with the best performance by an Indian debutant. The Lankan bowler’s performance became even more special with the resolve he showed after being cast in his first spell. He scored 37 runs in his first three overs.
On Wednesday, he tweeted, “My first day at work was a roller coaster ride. Never over. Everything went well.”
According to his father Murali Krishna, the 25-year-old bowler from Karnataka likes Masala Dosa and Brett Lee.
In fact, the Australia connection is not limited to his praise for Lee, one of the quickest he has played the game. It goes back a few years.
He took up the sport at the age of 11 and enjoyed a stance in Australia with the legendary Thomson, the fast bowler that many bowlers wanted to emulate.
It was in 2017, when, as part of the IDBI Federal Bowling Foundation, Krishna traveled to Australia for training with Thomson along with Tusshar Deshpande and two others.
According to former cricket administrator and columnist Makrand Veningkar, training at Cricket Australia Academy in Brisbane proved highly beneficial for Krishna.
He told PTI, “Prasar Krishna got a good performance at CA Academy and helped improve his skills.”
Waningkar was all praised for the “cricket intelligence” of the Lankee bowler and said that it is clear how he returned after scoring runs in his first three overs in international cricket.
“He is very intelligent … I am talking about his cricketing intelligence. He was bounced back after a tough start after being sidelined by the England openers.”
“It reflects the boy’s character,” the veteran columnist said.
M. Senthilnathan, head coach of MRF Pace Foundation where Krishna trained, expressed similar views and said that the bowler had improved his leap and boundary since his hard work in 2017 and was impressed with his ODI debut.
“We selected him in 2017. He did well for Karnataka in a game against the ‘A’ side of Bangladesh in 2015 and that got his attention.
“We worked on his physical side after coming to MRF Academy, he worked in the gym and we worked on his skills. He works very hard in his game,” he said.
Also, learning from the legendary Glenn McGrath at the academy helped former India Under-19 captain St.Hillanathan.
Krishna also visited the CA Center of Excellence in Brisbane as part of the MoU of MRF Pace Foundation with Cricket Australia in 2019.
The head coach of the academy praised Krishna for his mental strength, which helped him fight back after a tough initiation into international cricket.
Senthilnathan said, “The beauty is that he came back very strongly after being hit … He battled, clung to the basics and didn’t over-try, which made him a success.”
Krishna’s father was also a cricketer and played for the college team.
Promoted
Krishna Sr. said, “Precid started playing from the age of 11 and did well in school cricket as an all-rounder. At the age of 14 he became serious about fast bowling. The family took his efforts. I joined them. “
He added, “He is a big fan of Brett Lee and loves to bowl fast and with fire like him. And, he likes Masala Dosa a lot.”
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