Morne Morkel hails Prasidh Krishna’s growth into a 'world-class bowler'

Prasidh Krishna (Pic: PTI)

India bowling coach Morne Morkel praised fast bowler Prasidh Krishna for blocking out public criticism and maturing into a top-quality international performer. Prasidh delivered an intense 14-over spell on Day 3 of the second Test against Sri Lanka, picking up 3 for 47 to lead the visitors' bowling attack on Tuesday.

Opening the post-day press conference, Morkel highlighted the pacer's mental strength.

"It (the spell) showed the character of Prasidh Krishna. He has the media on his back, the commentators on his back, to fight through that…and his bowling at the moment is very impressive," Morkel said.

Morkel expressed satisfaction with how the Karnataka bowler remained unbothered by outside opinions.

"It's about quieting those voices and just playing cricket. As a team, we always knew about his potential. As soon as you get into this environment, you want to impress a billion cricket fans; you are under the microscope, every movement gets analysed, and sometimes you try and fight against those elements."

"But Prasidh, for me, the biggest change is just to let go of all those thoughts, all those comments that are made on him; he is just enjoying his cricket," he added.

Morkel praises Krishna's work-rate

The South African coach noted Prasidh's diligent work ethic and technical preparation.

"He is an extremely hard worker; he is a guy that will do a lot of homework, going into games, doing a lot of research about opposition. So for him, he is a massive student of the game."

"It is just great to see him grow and develop into a world-class bowler. I think for India, in all formats, he has the potential and talent to play for a very long time," he said.

Morkel further added that Prasidh has followed team management's suggestions well and is reaping the rewards with his performance.

"Look, a lot of the time it is a captain and coach's decision trying to create something if there is not much on the ball or not much happening off the surface. I think as a world-class bowler, it is very important to always try and create something."

"Prasidh has got that extra pace and bounce, so we are going to use him in certain phases where it might be risky, but we might get the reward as well," he concluded.

India lead the two-match Test series 1-0.