"He will need a complete understanding of his own bowling" - R Ashwin's massive take on Team India bowler after IND vs SA 2025 3rd ODI

Spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin presented a massive take on Team India pacer Prasidh Krishna after the third ODI against South Africa. India beat the Proteas by nine wickets to seal the three-match series 2-1.

They bowled South Africa out for 270 after winning the toss. Krishna played a key role with the ball. He returned figures of 4/66 from 9.5 overs. While he was expensive initially, he made an exceptional comeback later on. In the previous game, Krishna had a tough time as a returned figures of 2/85 from 8.2 overs.

Ashwin reflected that Krishna would get better with experience and needed to develop an understanding of his own game. He defended the pacer and explained that when Krishna would gain complete understanding of his bowling, he would be lethal, and it was unfair to write him off.

"Prasidh will strike. In his first spell he was short. But he made that correction. He needs to understand that he needs to be full. The mastery of length or line, be it anybody, it takes a lot of repetition. You will only make mistakes and get better. He will need a complete understanding of his own bowling, his run-up, his release point. At this time he has not assimilated everything. But when he does, he will just not be a handful, he will be lethal. Sometimes, he will have bad days. But writing them off does not make any sense. I have seen even the best go for runs," he said on his YouTube channel.

Ashwin also gave an example of how former India pacer Zaheer Khan gained experience by bowling a lot over the years. The spin legend stated that bowlers would need time to start finding their rhythm. He also expressed that he was happy for Prasidh Krishna, as the pacer had gone through multiple injuries in his career.

"Take an example of Zaheer Khan. He used to jump high when he came in first, but later he stopped jumping that much. Was it a technical input given by somebody? Maybe yes, but one of the largest contributing factor was, Zaheer had played for Worcestershire. He bowled so many overs, gained so much experience and then found the sweet spot. You will start finding it only then. Bowlers will start finding it like that over a period of time. Prasidh has also gone through injuries. These are big setbacks. I really feel happy for him today because he got that success. He deserved that. He is a hard worker and has gone through a lot," Ashwin added.

Krishna ended the series with seven wickets at an average of 28.42 and an economy of 7.80.

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Ashwin defends Indian bowlers for struggling to bowl in dew

While India won the final game chasing, the bowlers had a tough time defending totals in the first two matches. In the opening game of the series, they registered a close 17-run win defending 349. They failed to defend 358 in the second game.

Ashwin, as a former cricketer, defended Prasidh Krishna and the Indian bowlers. He stated that while bowlers were asked to learn how to bowl with dew, it was almost impossible to do so. Talking about Prasidh, he also reckoned that the pacer was still finding his feet and is an asset to the team.

"As a player who has gone through this situation in dew, I will talk. I remember the high-scoring ODI series against Australia. Adam Voges and all of them scored. I gave 50 runs in nine overs bowling with dew. Many will say you need to develop the skill to bowl in dew but it is almost nearly impossible. Prasidh gives a lot of runs, has ups and downs, but when he gets it right, we know what he is capable of. At least I know. He is still understanding and finding his feet. He is still a brilliant asset," he said.

Further, Ashwin explained that the few brought in several uncontrollable factors. He reflected that it made it difficult to tell how the pitch would react, even if the bowlers came in with a lot of practice.