Why has Prasidh Krishna been a real letdown on England tour so far?

ENG vs IND 2025: Why Prasidh Krishna has been a major letdown so far? High economy (6.08), High average (58.40) and Poor control under spotlight.

Prasidh Krishna was the standout bowler in IPL 2025, emerging the highest wicket-taker with 25 wickets. During the season, he was difficult to score off as he bowled hard lengths while coming to bowl in the middle-overs. It was this performance that got him the ticket to the England tour where his hard lengths and extra bounce and change of pace would come in handy as a one-change bowler. But three Test innings later in the England tour, Krishna has been the weakest fast bowling link so far. 

Worst performance by any bowler in AT Trophy 2025
He has taken five wickets at an average of 58.40, meaning each of Krishna’s wickets has cost the team 60 runs. His economy rate is 6.08, meaning he is giving away 6 runs per over. These are the worst bowling average and economy rate by any bowler taking 5 wickets or more in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025.

In the Leeds Test, he picked up all his five wickets so far. In the first innings of the Leeds Test, he bagged all the three wickets on short balls as England batters mistimed the pulls and hooks. But in the second innings, he showed moments of brilliance, when he broke the 188-run stand for the opening wicket as he got Zak Crawley dismissed before getting Ollie Pope bowled with a beautiful swinger. It looked like Krishna was finally finding his rhythm and the lengths he should be bowling at the opposition. 

However, the Birmingham Test saw Krishna’s world come crashing down as he went wicketless in the 13 overs he bowled in the first innings, and conceded 5.53 runs per over. When Jasprit Bumrah is back for the third Test, Krishna is likely to be shown the door. The new-ball pair of Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep who did well in the first innings of second Test and bagged all 10 wickets to fall will retain their places.

Read More: Akash Deep fills India’s pace jigsaw for England tour, as Siraj gets back in form

Why Prasidh Krishna has been so inconsistent so far?

Struggle to get the line and length right
He has struggled to get the right line and length to bowl at the opposition. When he did get it right in the fourth innings of the first Test at Leeds, it was too late as England had already carved their path to victory. Hence, his twin strikes that brought India back into the game went in vain. It was hoped Prasidh Krishna would make amends, and do better in the second Test. However, he continues to spray on both sides of the wicket, giving the aggressive England batters enough scoring opportunities to seize the momentum after they were five down for 80-odd runs in the first innings. He struggled with his line and length thereafter as he conceded close to 6 runs per over. 

Bouncers were ineffective
Krishna was lucky to bag a few wickets in the first innings of the Leeds Test when England batters holed out in the deep to mishits off short balls bowled by him. However, his short balls were exposed in the second Test as it came at easy heights for pull or hook, while there was hardly much pace to hurry the batters from mistiming it. Hence, the short ball ploy from Krishna was a total flop. 

Read More: Why is India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel not producing results like his predecessor Bharat Arun?

Could not make proper use of old ball
Krishna came to bowl first change in both the Tests, and was expected to use the old ball to reverse swing to make life difficult for opposition batters. However, Krishna failed to do so, and bowling with a soft ball went against him. Hence, Krishna not only struggled to trouble any batters, but also gave away far easy runs to relieve the pressure from the batters put on by Deep-Siraj. The lack of good third seamer option eventually came to haunt India in the second Test as Harry Brook-Jamie Smith’s 303-run stand for the sixth wicket bailed England out.

The way forward for Prasidh Krishna
It’s likely that Krishna will sit out of the third Test to make way for Bumrah. During this break, Krishna should consult bowling coach Morne Morkel to get his problem sorted, and get his rhythm back to bowl a good length consistently. A break would also help him to pause, reflect, and rethink about his game, and come back stronger. 

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