Nobody takes wickets quite as regularly as Prasidh Krishna.
Since the start of the 2025 season, the Karnataka quick has the second-most wickets in the IPL, having taken 39 wickets at an average of 20 and a strike rate of 13.5 (both the best among the top 10 wicket-takers) for Gujarat Titans. The 30-year-old has also been a regular presence for India, turning out in all three formats.
And yet, despite having a record that speaks volumes, there is perhaps still a sense that the best of Prasidh is yet to come.
In IPL 2026, he finds himself in and out of Gujarat Titans’ bowling attack, with the franchise often opting to use all-rounder Jason Holder to replicate the effect the lanky quick has with the ball while extending the batting as well.
Short lengths the way to go
According to former India and Karnataka fast bowler Dodda Ganesh, who has worked with Prasidh since his youth days, his length is his main weapon. ”He’s tall and well-built like McGrath,” Ganesh told Sports stars. “His length, good length and just back of a length, and his bouncer, are his strength.”
This is borne out by the numbers as well. The short ball has proved Prasidh’s most potent weapon, with no other bowler coming close to the 15 wickets Prasidh has taken with the bouncer since 2025 in IPL.
Ganesh also pointed out that Prasidh’s success with the bouncer is aided by strong partnership bowling with the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Mohammad Siraj.
“He uses the bouncer very well because along with the performance analysts, they make plans that they are executing,” he explained. “All these bowlers play a lot of cricket, even in domestic cricket and India A, so they get a lot of coordination.”
It’s an influence that Prasidh has acknowledged as well. “I’d give a lot of credit to our bowling unit, everyone is bowling pretty well and keeping up the pressure, which enables me to come and take the wickets,” he told broadcasters ahead of GT’s clash with Mumbai Indians earlier this season.
The Nehra factor
Ganesh also suggested that having former India bowler Ashish Nehra – himself a veteran of 164 internationals and 88 IPL matches – as a coach may have had a significant role in Prasidh’s impressive record with GT.
“Ashish Nehra has played a good amount of cricket at the top level, he was in the 2011 World Cup-winning team. When you have an iconic bowler like that in the dressing room, he’ll be giving him a lot of tips. He’s handling him very well,” Ganesh said.
“Whenever he gets an opportunity, he’s delivering match-winning performances as well, he’s doing it for the team.”
Prasidh has also spoken about Nehra’s influence on him, saying, “He adds a lot of value. From somebody who has played a lot of T20 cricket (27 T20Is and 88 IPL matches), him talking to us at random times, be it during a coffee break, or at lunch, or even by the pool, it’s really important for him to give us all the inputs of what he’s gone through. Learn from others’ experiences is what a wise man would do,” after GT’s win over Lucknow Super Giants in the first half of the tournament.
Moving forward
Ganesh suggested that developing variations, and nailing a consistent length could be the next key for the speedster. “He can work on bowling the length where if he bowls, the ball will go to gully or slips. That’s the length he should bowl consistently,” he said. “And he should bowl all out, not surviving bowling.”
“He’s also started working more on his variations, he should look to do that consistently,” he added.
With GT having now secured its slot in the Playoffs, and its remaining matches likely to take place in the more seam-friendly conditions on Dharamsala, Mullanpur, and GT’s home venue, Ahmedabad, there is still plenty of time for Prasidh to make a telling contribution in this IPL.
But beyond that, national duties call again, as he has been named in both the Test and ODI squads for the series against Afghanistan, another indication of how highly he is rated by the current Indian set-up.
