- May 3, 2025
To be honest, when you think of T20 pace-bowling, you probably think of yorkers, some funky slower ones, and a sidearm coming out of the hand that makes you think the bowler must have grown up throwing frisbees. But then a bowler arrives with a different formula – one that is quiet, clinical, and just as deadly – enter, Prasidh Krishna, the IPL’s tall assassin and straight-arm sniper. In a league of variation, Krishna is a breath of fresh air, like a classic painting in a room full of pop art. If he reminds you of Josh Hazlewood, you are not alone.
Sticking to the Back-of-a-Length Bible
One of the key things that’s stood out this season has been Prasidh Krishna’s fixation to a back of a back-of-length delivery. While others have moved back and forth at will between wide yorkers to slower bouncers or bowled the full length without any clarity, Prasidh has just kept hitting the same length like a man who knows exactly what he’s doing and why it is working.
Why? Because of his height and high-arm action. Like Hazlewood, he hits the pitch at such an angle that it makes it uncomfortable for batters to play on the up or get under the ball. It isn’t flashy, the arm speed isn’t tiring either, but it is brutally efficient, especially when combined with some bounce and some nice seam movement. Nature, precision, and discipline free you from needing mystery balls.
The Power of Defined Roles
IPL teams frequently change bowlers like poker cards, one day giving them the new ball and the next asking them to bowl at the death, but Prasidh’s story this season relies heavily on one man: Ashish Nehra. The former Indian pacer turned coach deserves significant credit because he recognized Krishna’s strengths and worked on them.
Nehra’s tactical approach not to give him the new ball has worked wonders. It allows Prasidh to not bowl full—a type of delivery that is not immensely effective for him. By bowling in the middle overs, he can do this and thrive. In the middle overs, batters are evaluating and building or accelerating for the finish, and Krishna’s thick, nasty bounce from the back of a length creates difficulty for them to do both.
Variations—Less is More
Prasidh is not a one-trick pony, but he is not pulling rabbits out of a hat either. That is fine. His pace-off ball is not disguised like Bumrah’s off-cutter or Bravo’s dipping slower one, but it does the job because it is an appropriate variation on his stock delivery. It’s not about trickery, it’s about changing pace at the right time.
He has even tried the odd floater, one that moved away like a Frisbee, bamboozling everyone, including the batter. But these are rare Easter eggs in his spell. His strong suit is discipline, and his variations are the spice, not the main dish.
Krishna is a clear reminder that being effective is sometimes more valuable than being able to bowl six different deliveries, particularly in a format where bowlers tend to overcomplicate things. Therefore, next time you are indoors enjoying an IPL tussle, and watch a bowler hitting the pitch like a metronome, while batters are hopping and hustling, just remember, the Hazlewood mould has well and truly been passed on to Prasidh Krishna.
Which other classic fast bowlers do you think would keep their heads in the current chaos of T20? Leave your comments below, and let’s get talking about cricket.
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