Sunil Gavaskar questions if Prasidh Krishna is up for the challenge of Test cricket. India has a two-match series on the horizon against South Africa.
The Freedom Series’ first match starts in Centurion on Tuesday, December 26. Mohammed Shami will not play in this series. This leaves the Indian managers deciding between Krishna and Mukesh Kumar for the third main bowler.
In an exchange on “Follow the Blues,” a Star Sports program, Gavaskar was asked to select his favorite Indian seam attack. The former captain of India expressed some skepticism on Krishna’s suitability for Test matches, explaining:
“I am not sure about Prasidh Krishna. He has come back from an injury. If he is required to bowl 15-20 overs in the day, I am not sure if he will be able to do that. I hope he proves me wrong because if anybody proves me wrong, that means India are doing well and if India are doing well, I am very happy.”
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar predicts Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will handle the new ball for the guests. He said:
“I believe Bumrah and Siraj pick themselves because of the way they have bowled over the last year and a half with the white ball and the red ball. So my opening bowlers would be them.”
Sunil Gavaskar
In his six South African test matches, Bumrah snagged 26 wickets, boasting a notable average of 24.38. Contrarily, Siraj managed just three catches across two tests in India’s latest South African tour, achieving a lackluster average of 51.00.
“My third pick would be Mukesh Kumar” – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar prefers Mukesh Kumar to Prasidh Krishna on the field. He reasoned thus:
“Then depending on what you want you want and what kind of a surface you are looking at, my third pick would be Mukesh Kumar because he moves the ball and bowls good lines and lengths.”
Sunil Gavaskar
The former cricket player who is now a broadcaster believes the Bengal seamer would benefit greatly from his extensive first-class experience. He noted:
“He has got the experience of bowling long spells because he has played a lot of Ranji Trophy cricket. If you to bowl the entire day, you have to be ready to bowl at least 18 to 20 overs.”
Sunil Gavaskar
This year, Mukesh Kumar bagged two wickets in his sole Test match against the West Indies. He’s a right-arm fast bowler with an impressive count of 151 wickets from 40 first-class games. His average? An excellent 21.62.