Rajasthan Royals pacer Prasidh Krishna put up a brilliant show in the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2022. A rising star, his searing spell of 3/22 put paid to Royal Challengers Bangalore’s hopes of posting a sizeable total. With wickets of Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik and Wanindu Hasaranga, the latter two in successive deliveries, the lanky quick put the skids on the RCB charge. The 26-year-old, once of KKR, has been in fine rhythm throughout this edition of the IPL, snapping up 15 wickets in as many matches, at a strike rate of 32.60 while maintaining a decent economy of 8.36. A part of Kolkata Knight Riders‘ setup till last season, the Bengaluru born bowler was in no mood to dole out runs to his hometown side. 

Turning out for Karnataka in domestic cricket, the 6 feet 2-inch pacer has impressed across formats in the domestic circuit. Making his first-class debut in 2015, he would rip through the touring Bangladesh A side, reeling off a spell of 5/49, which also included a wicket off his very first ball. In the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he was Karnataka’s leading wicket-taker with 13 dismissals in seven matches. After encouraging performances for India A in the A-team Quadrangular Series and ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup, KKR secured his services in 2018. 

He would get his first international call-up during England’s tour of India in 2021. Making his bow in the first ODI at Pune, he would burnish his reputation with fine figures of 4/54 in a 66-run for the home side. In a fledgling ODI career he has 18 wickets to his name in seven matches, with a personal best of 4/12 at Ahmedabad against West Indies. 

But it hasn’t always been smooth-sailing for him. A couple of years back, he was down with injuries and struggling. “Everything was going well, and suddenly just like that it was gone,” Prasidh would lament to ESPNcricinfo at the time. “I know there’s no right time to get injured, but suddenly, I couldn’t even walk properly. There was an impingement in my hip. The pain got worse and just before the T20s, I had stiffness in my calf.” 

Krishna adds that he had to work doubly hard on his fitness to get back to his best shape. “Sometimes, I tried to push from the mind but my body wasn’t coping with it. I can’t say I’m at my best, but I’m getting there. I can’t play thinking ‘what happens if I get injured’, then you’re just going to be unnecessarily burdening your mind. Hopefully, I will peak at the right time,” he told the website.