India bowling coach Morne Morkel praised Prasidh Krishna for shutting out outside criticism and working relentlessly on his game, saying the pacer has developed into a “world class bowler” with the potential to serve the team across formats for years.
Prasidh produced an impressive spell on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka, taking three wickets for 47 runs from 14 overs to lead India’s bowling attack.
Prasidh Learns To Ignore Noise
Morkel said Prasidh’s ability to block out criticism from the media and commentators has played a major role in his recent improvement.
“It (the spell) showed the character of Prasidh. He has the media on his back, the commentators on his back, to fight through that…and his bowling at the moment is very impressive,” Morkel said after the day’s play.
The South African believes the Karnataka pacer has learned to focus on his cricket rather than being distracted by the constant scrutiny that comes with playing for India.
“As soon as you get into this environment, you want to impress a billion cricket fans, you are under the microscope, every movement gets analysed,” he said.
“But Prasidh, for me, the biggest change is just to let go of all those thoughts, all those comments that are made on him…he is just enjoying his cricket.”
Hard Work Fuels Prasidh’s Rise
Morkel highlighted Prasidh’s preparation and hunger to learn as key factors behind his development.
“He is an extremely hard worker, he is a guy that will do a lot of homework, going into games, doing a lot of research about opposition. So for him, he is a massive student of the game,” he said.
“It is just great to see him grow and develop into a world class bowler. I think for India, in all formats, he has the potential and talent to play for a very long time.”
Pace And Bounce His Biggest Weapons
Morkel explained that Prasidh’s ability to generate extra pace and bounce gives India an option to attack even when conditions offer little assistance.
“As a world class bowler, it is very important to always try and create something. Prasidh has got that extra pace and bounce, so we are going to use him in certain phases where it might be risky but we might get the reward as well,” he said.
That attacking role has occasionally resulted in Prasidh conceding runs, but Morkel insisted those risks are part of the responsibility assigned to him by the team.
Team Stands Behind Prasidh
Morkel recalled India’s tour of England in 2025, when Prasidh was sometimes asked to perform a difficult role even when the results did not always go his way.
“There were a lot of times, I think back in England (2025), where we had to put our hand up because we were asking the boy to do a certain job,” he said.
“Although the results sometimes might not go his way, the whole team is behind him.”
Morkel said the coaching staff have focused on giving Prasidh clarity and confidence rather than allowing disappointing spells to affect his progress.
His bowling has also evolved, with greater consistency in attacking fuller lengths adding another dimension to his game.
“It is sometimes a tough job, a donkey job. But I think he has done that very well for us in the last two or three years. His game has also grown now and he can hit that fuller length much more consistently, which is great to see,” Morkel said.
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