Team India skipper Shubman Gill has hinted that Prasidh Krishna will share the new cherry with Mohammed Siraj in the opening Test of the two-match series, which is scheduled to start on Saturday, August 15, in Galle.
Notably, India’s Test squad has Siraj, Prasidh, Gurnoor Brar and Auqib Nabi as pace options. Moreover, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain form the spin attack.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Gill has asserted that Prasidh bowled well in the three-day warm-up fixture, indicating his inclusion in the XI ahead of the likes of Gurnoor Brar and Nabi.
“Gurnoor Brar is excellent with the old ball as he can extract bounce at a good pace. But Prasidh Krishna is bowling well of late, as we have seen in the warm-up match. So it’s a tough call,” Gill said on the eve of the opening Test.
“Jasprit Bumrah is not here, but it’s an opportunity for someone to step up. It’s all about understanding the pace of the game,” Gill added.
Meanwhile, the southpaw batter Devdutt Padikkal is expected to take up the No. 3 role in the absence of another left-hander Sai Sudharsan. In contrast, under-pressure Dhruv Jurel is expected to bat in the middle-order.
“Players are going to grow on their own. We need to give time to them; some players require a bit of time,” he noted.
He also dismissed the reports of improper communication between the team management and the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. Notably, there have been multiple players who are suffering from injuries at the moment.
“There is a constant communication with them. Unfortunately, Sai Sudharsan did not improve as much as we liked, as we can’t take risks in Tests. But we are confident of our 15 (players),” Gill said.
