Gujarat Titans pacer Prasidh Krishna emphasized that bowlers must create variations to counteract batsmen’ dominance in the IPL 2026, which has so far been a high-scoring game.
Teams have been posting and chasing totals well over 200 in this IPL season with extreme ease, and Prasidh emphasized the need to execute abilities well to counter the situation.
“Yeah, to have that variations…it is very, very important as a bowler. You try and make sure the average scores only keep going down and it’s about all the work that you put in behind the scenes,” PTI quoted Prasidh as saying.
“You need to prepare for situations, pitches, grounds, batsmen and all of those things, and make sure you execute all that because this is such a high-skilled tournament that the room for error is pretty less.
“But it is just about coming and bowling the right deliveries there. Make sure you know what the intent of the batsman is and read the situation, have clarity about what you want to do and just commit to doing that,” he added.
In eight IPL 2026 games, Prasidh has already claimed 14 wickets. He disclosed that he has become proficient in a slow bouncer and has been making good use of it this season. The Karnataka man explained how that specific delivery ended up in his armoury.
“It’s a very funny thing because I just ended up trying it at practice. One of our net bowlers, Darshan Nalkande, was bowling it and then I spoke to him. And he told me how to do it. It felt really good in one of the practice sessions that I did,” he said.
“Then I just took it to the game. It was just about feeling confident and trusting your delivery and trusting your team to let you do what you want to do. And then when things work out, it works out. But there was a lot of work that went behind bowling that one.”
However, Prasidh stated that knowing one’s abilities is crucial to a bowler’s success in this fast-paced game.
“The hard (Test match) length definitely works. But there are multiple ways somebody can bowl a yorker or a slow bouncer. Lasith Malinga did it. Jaspreet Bumrah does it. So, it’s just about what’s your strength. What is the right ball on that ground at that situation and then you just end up bowling a lot more of that,” he said.
According to the 30-year-old, a bowler must develop quick thinking throughout a match because it is now nearly impossible to rely on a set strategy in Twenty20 cricket.
“See, we have to bowl 24 balls in a T20 game. When a fast bowler gets hit over the boundary multiple times, all that you gotta do is what can I do better now? So, if it means whether a slower ball or a bouncer or a yorker, you just go to that.
“You don’t really come pre-prepared saying this is how many balls I am going to bowl fast. But then definitely bowling fast helps you because it just gives you that little bit of a room versus batsmen,” he said.
Prasidh is aware that he may still have to endure a costly spell or an over in Twenty20 cricket despite all the preparations. After being carried around by batters, how can he regroup and perform better?
“I think sport in itself is such a blessing that every single day you start afresh. T20 is even further as it is about every single ball. There may be a day when you have bowled 23 balls and gone for 65 runs. But then you have to defend 3 off 1 ball, and you are still in the game.
“So, you can still bowl a great ball and win the game for your team. So, that is how you can break it down and say it is 24 balls that I am being part of.
“Even if 23 balls go really bad for you, it is the 24th ball that can actually make a difference and win the game for the team. It definitely helps when you can bring it down to that level,” he noted.
However, without “intentional” training sessions overseen by GT head coach Ashish Nehra, a former India bowler, none of Prasidh’s claims would have come to pass.
“It’s a great team and the people here are really good. I have completely made use of everybody around me. It’s so consistent in what we do. One thing that I would actually say is very different here is how much work we put in. We spend a lot of hours practicing.
“We make sure we have intentional practice, and that is what I would call it. We work on what we want to do. And yeah, it’s just that I think having stable minds around you helps a lot,” he said.
According to Prasidh, he has improved his skill by bowling alongside and conversing with senior pacers like Jason Holder, Rabada, and Mohammad Siraj.
“It does help me better myself a lot because, you know, when you’re dealing with the greats in the game, you have Siraj, Rabada, Holder, Rashid…in fact, the new guys in our team also have a lot of skills.
“So, as a bowler, you are always looking to learn from each other. Keep chatting with each other. It’s not just in practice, but it’s also outside in our team room, at meals, in the buses. We keep chatting and then keep trying to learn from each other,” he explained.
