I am more matured, experienced and with clarity, says Gujarat Titans star bowler Prasidh Krishna

Prasidh, who has taken 16 wickets in this IPL so far, said on JioHotstar press room for ‘Race to Playoffs’ on Sunday that the biggest lesson he learnt from his mentor Ashish Nehra at Titans was how to react to the conditions and make the right decisions which help the team’s cause.

Hyderabad: At 29, it is never easy for a fast bowler to fight back from two seasons marred by injuries and, more importantly, be one of the leading wicket-takers in the IPL.

But, that’s what the spirited pacer of Gujarat Titans, Prasidh Krishna, has done in style and says he is more mature, more experienced and has better clarity about the challenges ahead.

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Prasidh, who has taken 16 wickets in this IPL so far, said on JioHotstar press room for ‘Race to Playoffs’ on Sunday that the biggest lesson he learnt from his mentor Ashish Nehra at Titans was how to react to the conditions and make the right decisions which help the team’s cause.

Reflecting on being branded initially as a better red-ball bowler than with the white ball, Prasidh said he would look at it differently. “If you hit the right length and have the right control, you can be good in any format,” he said. “Importantly, we are all backing our skills and executing the plans really well,” he added.

On bowling in tandem with someone like Mohd Siraj, Prasidh said that they believed in each other’s abilities. “The togetherness in the team is something special,” he said.

“I always took pride in coming from Karnataka which has a rich history of producing some greats of the game. I have grown watching them, their preparations, aggression and doing the little things right. I must make special mention of Vinay Kumar for the way he went about his job,” the Titans star bowler said.

On use of saliva this season, Prasidh admitted that it did help the bowlers this season. “For even if you get one out of 120 balls to stand up and produce a dot ball at a critical stage, one can get the momentum back,” he said.

What keeps you going? “The urge to win. The taste of victory is addictive and that’s what drives us to keep winning every time we enter the field,” the India fast bowler said.

“The expectations will be there but it is important for us to keep the momentum going, for no matter how many wins you may have, it can shift easily. We need to stay humble, get through the games,” Prasidh said.

The fiery fast bowler said he was never really thinking about the ‘Purple Cap’. “If not me, one of my teammates would have had it, perhaps. It is part of the process for sure to be the leader now. The bigger challenge is to continue the winning momentum,” the Titans bowler said.

On the best dismissal for him in this IPL, Prasidh picked up sending back K.L. Rahul of Delhi Capitals as a special effort. “I was under some kind of pressure. Needed to nail the ball and got the ball swing late to have him out,” he said.

“I really enjoyed the two previous franchises also – Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. But in Titans, all of us are gelling well, the kind of hard work we put in the nets brings us all a bit closer. “Definitely, enjoying it right now,” Prasidh said.

Prasidh was happy that the bowlers were having a better time this season and credit goes to them.

The successful fast bowler also said right now his focus was on IPL and not thinking about the England tour or anything else. “We are more meen to enjoy the game, take real good decisions on the field, keep working harder to help the team make it to the play-offs first,” he said.