Prasidh Krishna will turn 26 next week. Since making his international debut in 2021, the pacer has played six ODIs and has picked 15 wickets at an economy rate of 5.07.

Prasidh can bowl probing lines and lengths. Add to that his ability to clock speeds of 140kmph and knack of generating bounce, and he becomes a potent force.

On Wednesday, Prasidh kept things simple and conceded just 12 runs, snapping up four wickets to hand the West Indies a 44-run defeat in the second ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

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“I have been putting in the yards and trying to do this for quite some time now, so I am glad it happened. It has been almost a year since I made my debut for India. I have been striving to get more consistent since then…” Prasidh said after guiding India to a series win.

Prasidh made it to the big league in 2018 when an injury to Kamlesh Nagarkoti forced Kolkata Knight Riders to find a like-for-like replacement. The Knights camp zeroed in on the tall Karnataka pacer. Back then, he was raw but his speed in the nets impressed the Knights team management, eventually paving his way into the side. A year later, when he started playing top-tier cricket, Prasidh understood the importance of finding variation.

“I remember, when I started, I used to get excited and had too many emotions running through. But over time, we have been together, practised together as a team. We have had our plans, and we have been very clear on what we wanted to work on,” Prasidh explained.

With Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami around, Prasidh often has to wait for his opportunity. But every time the doors open, he wants to make it count – be it against South Africa or the West Indies.

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“We have been working on consistency as a bowling unit. We all know that we have a good set of bowlers in our team and we are helping and learning from each other, so that is about it. There is nothing special,” he maintained.

And talking about his plans against the West Indies, Prasidh said: “Hit good lengths, good lines and bowl in the area where it was (necessary) for batsmen to push out for runs or block it, so I tried to do my best…”

India has an action-packed calendar over the next year and a half, and Prasidh knows it might not be easy to find a spot in the playing eleven. But he is keeping himself ready.

“As a bowler, as a cricketer, you would be playing as, and when you get a chance and when you are not playing, you might as well get back to the drawing board, get better, and come back and play whenever you get a chance”.