England tour gave me a lot of confidence, says Prasidh Krishna
Prasidh Krishna has said that travelling and training with India team during the tour of England as a standby player earlier this year was a platform to learn and gave him a lot of confidence. He said that the tour helped him polish his skills, consistency and to evaluate his game.
After the end of India’s campaign at the T20 World Cup 2021, they are all set to host three T20Is and two Tests against New Zealand. The three-match T20I series will be played between November 17 and 21, before the Test series begins on November 25.
India have roped in quite a few youngsters in the two squads. While Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Venkatesh Iyer found a spot for T20Is, KS Bharat and Prasidh Krishna were named in the Test squad.
Krishna has been a standby player for India during the England tour earlier this year since World Test Championship final against New Zealand, before being added to the main squad ahead of the fourth Test against the hosts at The Oval. Reflecting on his experience in England, Krishna said that the tour was a good platform to learn.
“The England tour helped me a lot because bowling in England required different work ethics and it was a good platform to learn. I believe that tour gave me a lot of confidence and also helped me evaluate at what level I was and set the vision for how I want my career to pan out in the future,” Krishna told TOI on Friday, November 12.
“It helped me polish my skills and work on my consistency. To play at that level, we require an X-factor and I worked on it. It also taught me how to handle pressure.”
The Karnataka pacer made his first class debut in 2015 and has 34 wickets from nine first-class matches. He'd made his ODI debut against England in the home ODI series earlier this year, and bagged six wickets from three matches including a match-winning 4/54 on debut.
He was grateful after having got an opportunity at the Test level.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity because it gives me another chance to rub shoulders with the greats, learn from them and add to my skill set,” he said.
The New Zealand series will also be Rahul Dravid's first assignment as the team's full-time head coach, after Ravi Shastri had called it quits. Krishna, who was groomed under Dravid's guidance at the junior level, looked forward to learn more from one of game's greats.
“I’ve interacted extensively with Rahul sir during my time with the India ‘A’ squad and at the National Cricket academy," he said. "He is somebody who is always calm and pressure never shows on him. These are among the many aspects of the game we get to learn from him. So, I’m looking forward to this crucial learning curve in my career.”