Prasidh Krishna wasn’t sold on Shubman Gill’s tactics on his India Test captaincy debut

Prasidh Krishna was the highest wicket-taker of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. In his debut season for the Gujarat Titans (GT), the tall fast bowler was expected. He, along with captain Shubman Gill and head coach Ashish Nehra, had cracked the code. But less than a month later, Prasidh didn’t agree with Gill’s plan.

Disagreement over plans

The 29-year-old has always been a hit-the-deck bowler. But short ball didn’t come naturally to him. Back of the length is where Prasidh has always operated. So, when in Headingley on his India Test captaincy debut, Gill told him to bowl short balls; Prasidh didn’t entirely agree.

But that’s what the team wanted from him. Prasidh states that it was the first time he had to do something that he wasn’t convinced about. He was wayward throughout the first Test, picked 5 wickets, but also went for runs.

“It is very important for both of us [Shubman Gill and him] to understand each other – for me to know what the team actually wants, why I am here, and what they want from me. It’s equally important for the team to understand what is the best that Prasidh can give in a given situation.

We started off knowing there would be instances where I would have to do the job the team wanted – and I took it. It was actually a first-time experience for me, where the team wanted me to do something that I wasn’t fully convinced about,” he told ESPNcricinfo.

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Better communication & realisation

But the reason behind his selection was agreement. Prior to the Test, Prasidh had agreed upon the tactics and plans. It’s not just Gill who solely decided upon it; the entire coaching staff and management were all in for this. Prasidh realised this.

It was his job to do what was perceived as best for Team India. He struggled initially but was entirely on board from the second Test onwards. He said he chatted with Gill and naturally head coach Gautam Gambhir about what was going right and where they can bring out change.

It took some time since it was Gill’s first time as India’s Test captain and Prasidh too was playing in England for the first time, but in the end it all worked out as India levelled the series at 2-2 in the Oval.

“But then you have 20 people sitting outside who have a plan. We’ve spoken about it, and agreed on it. So it becomes your duty to come in and do the job for the team. I was more than happy to do it, because that’s why you play a team sport. If you only wanted to do what you wanted, you’d be playing something else, just by yourself.

It was a very good learning experience for me as well, especially in terms of communication. It got better after or during the second Test, when I actually went up and said, ‘Okay, this is the plan, but maybe we could have done something differently’. The conversations were very open, the communication was very good, even though it was a first-time experience for me. I think we took some time but learned about each other really well,” Prasidh added.

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