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With Hardik Pandya failing to recover from an ankle injury picked up during India's 2023 World Cup clash against Bangladesh, the selectors have named Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna as a replacement for the rest of the tournament.
While he is nowhere close to a like-for-like replacement for Pandya, Prasidh certainly offers an outstanding backup option for India's relentless fast-bowling attack. He could have a role to play as the tournament enters its business end.
India are schedule to face South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, November 5. A clash that could decide who finishes on top of the 2023 World Cup points table, this is a contest that has plenty riding on it.
Having said that, there is merit in India giving Prasidh a go in the playing XI immediately. Let's look at three reasons as to why he should make his bow in the 2023 World Cup in Sunday's contest:
#1 It will give Prasidh Krishna some much-needed game time
It's not as though Prasidh has been devoid of match practice in entirety. He played each of Karnataka's six group matches at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy even as the team failed to progress to the knockouts.
Having said that, ODIs demand a greater workload as opposed to T20s. Having played just three 50-over games on his return from a long-standing back stress fracture, the lanky seamer could do with more game time in this format.
Sunday presents him the best opportunity to build his rhythm in that regard. India will not want to throw their backup fast bowler into the XI straightaway in the semis should the need arise, and giving him a taste of action on Sunday would be wise.
#2 Prasidh offers a point of difference against South Africa's batters
India's fast-bowling troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami have undoubtedly been the best on display at the 2023 World Cup. But what Prasidh brings is a unique cutting edge, owing to the skiddy bounce he can extract off hard lengths.
Apart from clocking high speeds in excess of 145 kph, his ability to rush batters off the surface is what makes him a big threat. This could just give India an X-factor against the best batting unit of the tournament thus far - particularly against someone like Heinrich Klaasen, who has been hard to stop.
The extra bounce off those hard lengths has troubled Klaasen in times gone by, and with skipper Temba Bavuma also falling prey to it on a couple of occasions at the 2023 World Cup, India will want to capitalize. There's also the familiarity factor with the venue, given that the seamer has played a lot of games in the IPL during his time with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Prasidh could be India's best option to attack South Africa while allowing them to hold back Kuldeep Yadav and shield him from Klaasen, given the latter's marauding spin-hitting prowess.
#3 The South Africa clash is an opportunity for India to rest one of the seamers
Bumrah and Siraj have played in all of India's 2023 World Cup fixtures, while Shami has played three on the bounce heading into the clash against South Africa.
On the back of Pandya being ruled out, India cannot afford any more injuries and will want to tread with caution after securing qualification. To that end, giving Prasidh a game and resting one of the aforementioned troika would make sense to ensure that their first-choice attack is fresh and ready for the bigger game(s) ahead.
India have six days off post this game before they wind up their round-robin fixtures with a clash against the Netherlands in Bengaluru. Given that there's not much of a gap between that contest and the semifinals, they'd want to field their best XI against the Dutch to prevent rust from hurting their bowlers.
India will thus do well to keep in mind the multiple benefits that come with fielding Prasidh against South Africa.
Do you think India should field Prasidh Krishna for their 2023 World Cup clash against South Africa? Have your say in the comments section below!
