After a good show in the white-ball leg of the ongoing tour of South Africa, where India drew the T20I series 1-1 and clinched the ODI series 2-1, the visitors were brought down to Earth in the first Test, which the Proteas won by an innings and 32 runs. Prasidh Krishna made his Test debut in the match.
India's quest for a series win in South Africa will not come to fruition this time around with just one more Test to go in the series.
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Krishna, who has good numbers in one-dayers, was handed his Test debut at the SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium in Centurion. He came into the side after Mohammed Shami had been ruled out of the series after being unable to recover from the ankle issues that he played with during the 2023 World Cup.
However, Krishna had a horrible outing in his maiden international red-ball appearance, giving away 90 runs in 20 overs and picking up just one wicket.
In the aftermath of the humbling loss, a former India pacer, who chose to remain anonymous, has blasted the 27-year-old bowler.
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What did the former India pacer say about Prasidh Krishna?
The former cricketer told PTI that Krishna hasn't yet developed the skillset to excel or survive in Test cricket.
Poor Prasidh... The kid isn't ready for Test cricket. He doesn't have skills to bowl second and third spells yet. They went with him based on his ability to hit the deck. But they forgot when has he last played a proper season of Ranji Trophy? Just one India A game isn't enough.
Ahead of the second and final Test of the series in Cape Town, the Indian selection committee named Avesh Khan as the replacement for the injured Shami.
Following Krishna's disappointing debut, and because Avesh had a good ODI series followed by a five-wicket haul in one of the unofficial Tests against South Africa A, Avesh is set to make his Test debut, too.
However, the former cricketer did not hold back from raising his concerns.
The problem is India's next generation of pacers don't evoke the same kind of excitement and confidence that [Jasprit] Bumrah, Shami, Ishant [Sharma] and [Mohammed] Siraj produced. Avesh is same type of bowler like Prasidh but plays red ball cricket more regularly. So he might hit better lengths. Navdeep Saini is still playing India A for six years. That tells you the story.
What next for Indian cricket team?
India will conclude their tour of South Africa in the second Test that begins on January 3, 2024, at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town.
Then, they will take on Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series at home, which begins on January 11.
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