The Indian team finds itself under significant pressure following the loss at Headingley. Head coach Gautam Gambhir is under growing scrutiny to turn things around and deliver strong performances in the remaining Tests. The last 12 months in red-ball cricket have not gone as planned for India, with only one series win.
Gambhir, who took over coaching duties from Rahul Dravid, started with a home series win against Bangladesh, but everything has gone downhill for him since then. India lost to New Zealand at home 0-3 for the first time in history, then lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade and now lost the first Test of a five-match series to England. He has been put under pressure, while some of the players also faced scrutiny for their recent underperformances.
Prasidh Krishna is one such player who has come under heavy criticism from several former cricketers after conceding over 200 runs in the series opener at Leeds.
“If I look at the first innings, I was a little too short than where I wanted to be, 6-8 is ideal. Second innings it got slightly better, because again, the wicket was slightly slower. I had to pitch a few slightly behind 8, and go slightly fuller, when I am trying to get a wicket.
“I definitely did not bowl the lengths that I wanted to. It took me some time to get used to the slope on that side. No reasons, but I should be able to do it as a professional. I take complete responsibility about it, and maybe, do it better next time,” Prasidh said at a press conference.
Krishna has shed light on the dressing room atmosphere and asserted that the players are all motivated in the dressing room.
“Yeah, the dressing room is still nice and happy and very, very motivated. Like I said, we came here knowing what this opportunity meant for all of us. And even in the game today, we might have looked quiet at some stages. But I think we still had a plan. We wanted to do something and we went about doing it. We got two wickets in a cluster twice, and that still kept the motivation,” Krishna said in the press conference.
While some former players criticised Prasidh for his expensive figures, head coach Gambhir backed him.
“The culture we have created is we are learning off each other… no matter who is there, who is around, and Boom is around, he has been talking to us even before coming here. At least for me, I’ve been part of this team for few years now, so conversations are still going on,” Prasidh said.
The lanky pacer has also taken it upon himself to improve his shortcomings and put up better numbers in the coming matches.
He added, “One thing you cannot get is experience, that you have to do it yourself and I think all of us are excited if you look at the team.
“It’s my responsibility to get better and that’s what I am trying, that’s what I am working on, and I just want to make sure I put in the right kind of work, come back here, and put up better numbers.”
