Former Indian middle-order batter Ajinkya Rahane, who recently announced his retirement from all forms of the game, has reckoned that the ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s absence helped Prasidh Krishna to perform with the added responsibility in the first ODI against the West Indies in Trivandrum.
While Prasidh ended the first innings with figures of 2/60 in 10 overs, West Indies managed to score a whopping 295/7 in 50 overs. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Rahane showered praise on the Karnataka pacer, saying it’s a great opportunity for him to perform without Bumrah.
“He has improved his consistency in length by pitching it up more. In a way, it’s good that Jasprit Bumrah isn’t there. Because of that, he has added responsibility. And we saw with Siraj on how he became a very good bowler when Bumrah wasn’t there by taking up more responsibility. Likewise, for Prasidh, it’s a great opportunity to be that guy without Bumrah,” Rahane said.
For the unversed, Bumrah is currently plying his trade for the Indian T20I team in the ongoing Asian Games 2026 event in Japan.
On the other hand, former Indian keeper Dinesh Karthik was impressed with the Indian team’s overall bowling performance. While Krishna scalped two wickets, Kuldeep Yadav picked up four wickets for 40 runs. Nitish Kumar Reddy picked up one wicket while Gurnoor Brar, Ravindra Jadeja and Naman Dhir couldn’t pick up any wickets.
“It was a decent bowling performance as a team. Nitish Kumar Reddy had a tough start. Gurnoor Brar is always going to be a wicket-taker but also expensive because of the lengths he bowls. So he will always provide wickets but go for runs. Naman Dhir was steady. He is not a full-time bowler and not someone who can give you 10 overs. He is restrictive and a defensive bowler,” Dinesh Karthik said.
