Glenn McGrath backs Prasidh Krishna to play a key role going forward

Australia pace great Glenn McGrath felt that India’s white-ball fast-bowling attack was in the midst of a natural transition, backing Prasidh Krishna to emerge as a key figure at a time when Jasprit Bumrah is managing his workload and Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are absent.

“It’s always going to be tough to just pick up from where you left off. You’ve got Bumrah, who’s a class bowler. Shami is world class as well. Siraj has been around for a long time and is very experienced. They bowl incredibly well, so you can’t just expect to pick up straight from where you left off,” McGrath said at the MRF Pace Foundation here on Monday.

The 56-year-old, however, believed that India’s next-gen pacers were making encouraging progress. “I think they’ve been doing okay. I’m a big fan of Prasidh as well. It’s always a big ask to fill the shoes of Shami and Bumrah, so it’s always going to be a transitional period.”

McGrath reserved special praise for Prasidh, saying that the seamer had matured a lot since he first saw him. “From seeing him when he was here (MRF Pace Foundation) to watching him play IPL cricket, he just seemed to mature — his pace and just the way he was bowling, the way he held himself.

“He’s tall, bowls good areas, gets that bounce and pace. It’s the whole package, really. He was very much an enforcer when he bowled — just the way he went through the crease, the pace he was bowling at, the bounce, and the areas. Occasionally, he was a little bit short, but apart from that, he impressed me. He’s really developed and put his potential into action,” the former fast bowler said.

Asked why Prasidh tends to bowl too short at times, McGrath said that it could stem from his role as an enforcer. “I think his job is to be the enforcer and to really unsettle batters. It worked for him a bit in the IPL. Maybe, he just went with it”.