Prasidh Krishna speaks about how he evolved from a net bowler to playing for KKR
Prasidh Krishna, who made a fabulous debut in the first ODI against England in Pune, recently spoke about how he arrived at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
The 25-year-old, who stole the limelight on his ODI debut with figures of 4-54, was initially picked as a net bowler by the IPL franchise in 2018. However, he impressed enough to be drafted into KKR's squad only a few days later.
In his first IPL campaign, Prasidh Krishna picked up ten wickets in seven games at an economy of 9.28. The fast bowler didn't find a team initially, and the competition was already underway when he received a call from Venky Mysore, the managing director of KKR.
"I remember IPL had started. Venky sir called me and informed that one of the guys was injured. So they wanted me there. So that's when I got excited, but unfortunately, there were guests at my home. I was outside talking and wanted to run inside to tell it to my parents. But then there were guests, and I'm not someone who is really interested in getting so much of attention. I want to be on the sideline. I think it was three or four hours later when the guests left, and we were having dinner when I told them, and they were excited. And yeah, next day, in the afternoon, I guess I left," Krishna said in a chat show on KKR's YouTube channel.
On turning up at KKR as a net bowler, Prasidh Krishna vowed to become a professional player by the next season. However, he did not have to wait that long, as he was signed up by the franchise within a week of becoming a net bowler.
"I remember when I came here for a three-day trial (as a net bowler), they gave me the room key in an envelope, which only said, Prasidh Krishna. I came into the room, and I told myself, 'the next time I come here, I have to be here with an envelope saying 'KKR Player - Prasidh Krishna''. I set a goal for myself that the next time I come into this hotel, I have to be a KKR player or any IPL player (for that matter). And as it turned out, it happened in the span of five, six days," Krishna added.
The fast bowler will be looking to build on his impressive start to his international career when India take on England in the second ODI on Friday.
Prasidh Krishna talks about the impact of Glenn McGrath
The Karnataka bowler also talked about Glenn McGrath's impact on his bowling.
Prasidh Krishna was a part of the MRF pace foundation in Chennai during his teenage years. He revealed that he learnt how to stay composed as a bowler from the Australian legend, saying in this regard:
"I think the first and foremost thing that I observed was he (Glenn McGrath) was a really calm person, and he was never excited or overawed by the situation. He was very composed".
Elaborating on the same, the fast bowler said:
"So, I think that's the first thing I picked from him because that's the most important aspect for you as a bowler when you you're playing a game. The most important thing is to remain in the present and stay calm. And apart from that, he always spoke about being consistent. So that's the biggest part of it."
Prasidh Krishna conceded 37 runs in his first three overs, as Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler capitalised on the debutant's erratic line and lengths to give their team a rollicking start.
However, Prasidh Krishna returned to break the threatening opening stand and also picked up three more overs to bag 4/54 in his debut outing.