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The India fast bowler, who has the raw materials to succeed in Test cricket, is working on his control

Sidharth Monga28-Jun-20252:01

How will India work their bowling options for Edgbaston?

At Headingley, Prasidh Krishna became the first bowler in Test cricket to go at more than a run a ball in both the innings (minimum 15 overs bowled in each innings). He also registered the highest match economy for an India Test bowler. It in part contributed to India becoming the first team in first-class cricket to lose after scoring five hundreds in the match.It is not difficult to see why Prasidh didn’t get the desired results in Leeds. In the first innings, he bowled just 24 balls in the 6-8m good length band, one in five balls. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj bowled half their deliveries on a good length. His economy when he pitched there was 3.75.Instead he kept veering into short of a good length: 51 balls in 8-10m band for 53 runs and a wicket and 17 balls in 10-12m zone for 34 runs and no wicket. The first of these is just the limited-overs hard length, which is used as a defensive ploy with defensive fields. At Headingley, it just got hammered. The latter is a short ball, but not like you mean it. It didn’t quite rise to the shoulder. When he went to the proper bouncer, in the 12-14m zone, Prasidh drew the results: two wickets of set batters in 11 balls.It made for frustrating viewing because you know Prasidh has the ingredients to be a Test bowler. He has the highest release among the India bowlers, giving him the best chance to draw seam movement and disconcerting bounce. He is not express, but an average pace of 136.54 kph can be harnessed through accuracy. He did crank it up to 147.46 kph at one point.Prasidh made improvements in the second innings, bowling half his deliveries in the 6-8m band for one wicket and an economy of 4.93. He looked more threatening than in the first innings, but by now the pitch had lost its juice and it wasn’t deteriorating either. Still Prasidh has to find a way to not concede so many runs: be it get better on the line or work with his fields or come up with better plans for specific batters.Prasidh Krishna is still very new to Test cricket and has the attributes to find success•Getty ImagesIt is easy to forget this was just his fourth Test but Prasidh is not hiding behind any excuses. “If I look at the first innings, I was a little too short than where I wanted to be,” he said. “Definitely 6-8[m] is ideal. That’s what I would say. I think second innings it got slightly better, but because again the wicket was slightly slower, I had to pitch a few slightly behind it and then go slightly fuller when I’m trying to get a wicket. So, yeah, I definitely did not bowl the lengths that I wanted to.”There were other factors at play. “Not wanting to float it up there is definitely one of the reasons,” Prasidh said. “And also, it honestly took me some time to get used to the slope that side. But I should be able to do it as a professional. I take complete responsibility about it, and then maybe I do it better next time.”It could be noticed in the nets that bowling coach Morne Morkel and Prasidh are working at getting the default length slightly fuller without actually floating the ball up. Ishant Sharma, another tall fast bowler, had similar issues until he worked with Jason Gillespie at Sussex. Gillespie made him move away the traditional practice of hitting the cones on the pitch. He asked Ishant to forget the pitch but try to hit the knee roll on the batters’ pads as hard as he could. That is something Prasidh could perhaps look at doing.The processes can go on, but the economy can’t be this high. Prasidh needs to be able to exert better control on the flow of runs. “I had a few conversations with a few of them about this particular match,” he said. “I definitely would want to bring that down to whatever best I can do. I think I’m learning as well. It’s up to me. It’s my responsibility to get better, and that’s what I’m trying. That’s what I’m working on, and I just want to make sure I put in the right kind of work and come back here and put up better numbers.”Coach Gautam Gambhir supported Prasidh wholeheartedly minutes after the Headingley defeat. He pointed out to his lack of experience, but said he had all the ingredients to become a good Test bowler. The challenge won’t get easier: Bazball pitches will remain flat, Bazballers will continue trying to dominate him, and he won’t even have Jasprit Bumrah for two of the remaining Tests. It is up to Prasidh now to find a way to hit those good lengths without floating the ball. The rest can only flow from there.

Tottenham Hotspur returned to winning ways on Tuesday night when they secured an impressive 4-0 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League, after their defeat to Chelsea at the weekend.

Thomas Frank’s side put in, arguably, their best performance of the 2025/26 campaign as they created a whopping eight ‘big chances’ to find the back of the net.

That is the most ‘big chances’ the Lilywhites have created in a single game under the former Brentford head coach, per Sofascore, and they did so despite going down to ten men when Brennan Johnson was sent off.

Spurs are yet to find consistency in their creative play in the Premier League, though, as they rank 12th for ‘big chances’ created (17) and 15th for xG (10.1), per Sofascore and FBref.

Frank needs to find a way for his team to create chances in the way that they did against Copenhagen on a regular basis in the Premier League to improve those rankings.

The North London outfit rarely used to have a problem with creating chances when they had Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen in their side.

Why Spurs need their next Christian Eriksen

The Lilywhites need their next version of the Denmark international, who is currently at Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, because he provided a consistent creative presence in the middle of the park.

Signed from Ajax in 2013, Eriksen hit double figures for assists in four of his seven Premier League campaigns with Spurs, per Transfermarkt, which speaks to his consistency in the final third.

The right-footed playmaker produced 69 goals and 88 assists in 305 matches for the club in total before his departure in the summer of 2020. He offered a goalscoring threat to go along with his impressive creativity.

The former Manchester United central midfielder is, undoubtedly, one of the most creative players to have worn a Spurs shirt in the Premier League era.

Only Heung-min Son (71) has assisted more Premier League goals for Tottenham than Eriksen (63), but he played 107 more matches to assist eight more goals, per Transfermarkt.

Heung-min Son

71

Christian Eriksen

63

Aaron Lennon

49

Harry Kane

46

Dele Alli

34

Robbie Keane

31

Gareth Bale

27

Erik Lamela

23

Dimitar Berbatov

22

Jermaine Defoe

22

Eriksen’s eye for a pass and ability to execute all kinds of passes made him a constant threat with the ball at his feet and a joy to play with for any forward with intelligent movement, because they knew that he would be able to find them.

The Danish maestro had the quality to create high-quality chances on a regular basis, as evidenced by his impressive assist haul for the club, and that is what Spurs need in the Premier League in the present day.

Frank, though, does have a player within his Tottenham squad who has the potential to be Eriksen 2.0 for the Lilywhites this season, and beyond.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Dutch attacking midfielder Xavi Simons put in an impressive performance against Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday night, and showed that he does have the quality to be the club’s next Eriksen if he can add consistency to his performances.

Why Xavi Simons can be Tottenham's new Christian Eriksen

The Netherlands international created three ‘big chances’ in the first half of the 4-0 win, the most by any Spurs player in a Champions League match for the best part of a decade.

Per Sofascore, the former RB Leipzig star ended the night with four key passes, three ‘big chances’ created, and one assist in 61 minutes of action, before he was withdrawn after Brennan Johnson’s red card.

The Dutchman registered his assist by playing a brilliant through ball for Johnson to race onto and slot into an empty net after dribbling past the goalkeeper.

After the win over Copenhagen, Spurs writer and content creator Mitch Fretton claimed that Xavi is “going to be an elite player for Tottenham”, and it is hard to disagree with that assessment, despite his rocky start in the Premier League.

The £52m signing from RB Leipzig has yet to set the world alight since his move from Germany, as he has produced no goals and one assist in the top-flight so far.

xG

0.28

Bottom 20%

Goals

0.00

Bottom 3%

Shots on target

1

Bottom 13%

xA

0.60

Top 46%

Assists

1

Top 46%

Chances created

6

Top 49%

As you can see in the table above, Xavi has yet to provide consistent quality in the final third in the Premier League, but his performance against Copenhagen was a glimpse at what he can produce at his best.

The 22-year-old star assisted 11 goals in 48 matches for PSV and racked up 24 assists in 78 appearances for RB Leipzig, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he has provided consistent quality as a creator for his previous clubs.

Xavi also scored 22 goals each for PSV and RB Leipzig in that time, before his move to Spurs, and can offer a threat as a scorer as well as being a creator when he is on form.

Frank will now be hoping that his brilliant creative display against Copenhagen will allow him to kick on and make an impact in the final third on a consistent basis.

As good as Simons: 8/10 star had his "best performance in a Spurs shirt"

Spurs put in their best display under Thomas Frank yet against Copenhagen in the Champions League.

ByDan Emery Nov 5, 2025

If the Dutch playmaker can replicate the level of consistency he showed at PSV and Leipzig, Spurs could unlock their next version of Eriksen in the middle of the park.

Only one of Australia’s Ashes squad won’t feature for their states this week ahead of the first Test

AAP09-Nov-20251:45

Will Australian pitches affect England’s Ashes chances?

In the next five days, Australia’s players will enjoy the first huge luxury of hosting a home Ashes series.Not because of the conditions or the fact record-breaking crowds are expected, but in terms of what the last full week of warm-ups look like.Every member of Australia’s squad, with the exception of Usman Khawaja, will play in Sheffield Shield games at the SCG, WACA and Bellerive Oval this week.Related

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At the same time, England will be playing a three-day intra-squad game at Perth’s Lilac Hill, a venue that has never hosted a men’s international.The tourists’ preparations were questioned by former England captain Michael Vaughan last week, pointing to the vast difference in conditions to Optus Stadium.Keen not to light an early fuse, Australia’s players have stayed away from questioning England’s tactics.”England can prepare however they want to prepare,” Nathan Lyon said this week. “I am not worried about how they’re preparing or anything to do with them until the morning of November 21.”England’s preparations are nothing new, with a cluttered calendar making meaningful tour games a thing of the past. When Australia went to England in 2023, they played no warm-up games before the Test Championship final but won that and their first two Ashes battles with England.But there are very obvious advantages to having a longer lead-in for Australia’s players, given the timing of the series. England are coming off a white-ball series against New Zealand and their players haven’t featured in a red-ball match since early August.Mitchell Starc will make a rare Sheffield Shield appearance•Getty Images

In comparison, Steven Smith has already hit one red-ball century this summer and Marnus Labuschagne two.Lyon will play his fourth Sheffield Shield game of the season and Scott Boland his third, while Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and back-up quick Sean Abbott join them at the SCG this week when New South Wales host Victoria.Meanwhile, Travis Head and Alex Carey will feature for South Australia against a Tasmania side including the Jake Weatherald and Beau Webster. In Perth, all eyes will be on how Cameron Green goes on his return to bowling.”A lot of the skills are transferable between formats,” Abbott said on Sunday.  “But Josh Hazelwood has mentioned it a few times – your action gets into a little bit of a different position trying to hit yorkers constantly through white-ball cricket.”Then when you come back to red-ball cricket, you want to be a little bit up-and-over and get the kiss off the wicket and giving the ball every chance to move.”You can’t really match game intensity as much as we try to in the nets.  It’s just something about being out there in the middle and the thick of the contest. So, pretty lucky – home conditions, home summer.”As for Abbott, he is insistent he will be well prepared if his chance comes for a Test debut this summer.”I feel like I could get the tap on the shoulder,” Abbott said. “It felt that way potentially in the West Indies a little bit and games before that. I’ve not been getting a heap of game time recently, but being around those sort of guys is invaluable, whether you’re playing or not.”New South Wales squad Steve Smith (capt), Sean Abbott, Ollie Davies, Jack Edwards, Ryan Hadley, Josh Hazlewood, Sam Konstas, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Will Salzmann, Mitchell StarcVictoria squad Will Sutherland (capt), Scott Boland, Harry Dixon, Sam Elliott, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Campbell Kellaway, Blake Macdonald, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Oliver PeakeTasmania squad Jordan Silk (capt), Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Nikhil Chaudhary, Jake Doran, Kieran Elliott, Brad Hope, Caleb Jewell, Matt Kuhnemann, Aidan O’Connor, Tim Ward, Jake Weatherald, Beau WebsterSouth Australia squad Nathan McSweeney (capt), Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Travis Head, Henry Hunt, Jake Lehmann, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Henry Thornton

England have touched upon some strong form heading into their World Cup campaign, now head coach Charlotte Edwards wants to see them translate it onto the big stage.Edwards took over ahead of the English summer, which consisted of 14 games – six of them ODIs – in a dominant performance against West Indies before twin white-ball series defeats at the hands of India.But a training camp in Abu Dhabi combined with four wins from as many warm-up games – against New Zealand, India and Australia – has Edwards’ team right where she wants them heading into their World Cup opener against South Africa on Friday.”The players are really responding well, certainly to a slight change of style,” Edwards said on Wednesday. “Hopefully we’ve seen the results over the last four games, which have been really positive. We’re not getting carried away, don’t worry, but we know that we’re on the right track and we’re tracking really well moving into the first game.”England followed two tight wins against New Zealand by beating co-hosts India by 153 runs and Australia, the defending champions, by four wickets.Among the most notable performances for England were Heather Knight scoring runs in her first match since tearing her hamstring in May. Knight made 41 off 48 in the first warm-up with New Zealand and Edwards described her as “vital to our success out here”.Middle-order batters Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey and Emma Lamb all made runs, Lamb particularly impressive with three half-centuries in four outings.England head coach Charlotte Edwards and Alice Capsey spare time during training•ECB via Getty Images

Nat Sciver-Brunt, who took over the captaincy from Knight this year following the Ashes defeat that also cost then-head coach Jon Lewis his job, proved she would be key for England by retiring out on 120 as her side amassed 340 for 9 in their win against India.Legspinner Sarah Glenn shone with 5 for 32 from seven overs to help reduce Australia to 247 all out from 34.4 overs. Prior to that, she had played just twice for England during their home summer, in one ODI and one T20I against West Indies before being overlooked for India’s tour.”There’s never a friendly against an international opposition, so I think we’ve taken a lot of confidence, not necessarily around the result, but the way we’ve played,” Edwards said. “I feel we’re really nicely placed.”England’s struggles in the field and their ability to cope under pressure had been talking points since their group-stage exit at last year’s T20 World Cup and the Ashes, where they lost all seven matches contested in the multi-format series. But Edwards insisted there were no lingering scars from those experiences.”You’ll be pleased to hear we’ve been fielding really well, that’s something that we obviously wanted to work on,” she said. “So I’m really pleased with how the four games have gone and we’ve been put in some pretty tough situations at times as well. Under pressure, the players have responded really well.Related

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“I’ve not spoken about anything about the past,” she added. “It’s all about looking forward with this group now. We’ve created an environment where it’s about taking accountability now and we’ve got real clarity on how we want to play the game.”Hopefully that clarity is going to help this team under pressure, because I don’t think we’ll leave a stone unturned in terms of our prep. The signs have been really strong so far in terms of the development I’ve seen in the last six months. I’m just hoping we can take that now onto the big stage.”Edwards has vast World Cup experience in India, having made her first and last appearances at the tournament there, in 1997 and 2013. More recently in Indian conditions, she has coached WPL side Mumbai Indians to two titles in three years of the competition.And while Sciver-Brunt has been her standout self with the bat, it is her ability to bowl that remains under the spotlight. Because of a long-standing Achilles injury, Sciver-Brunt has bowled just 9.3 overs since the WPL final in mid-March, in which she took 3 for 30 in an eight-run victory over Delhi Capitals.She took 2 for 23 in 5.3 overs during the second warm-up with New Zealand on September 20 and conceded 22 off four wicketless overs against India five days later.The luxury of a four-pronged spin attack reduces England’s reliance on the seam bowling of Sciver-Brunt, whom Edwards expected to be able to bowl a full match allocation of ten overs if required.”We are very lucky, we’ve got four of the best [spinners] in world cricket in my opinion,” Edwards said. “We knew that they were going to play a big part when we selected this squad. That comes from my experience of coaching out here, that spin’s played a massive factor even in T20 cricket and WPL cricket.”Nat’s ready to go. She’s bowling. She hasn’t bowled in every warm-up game, but she’s doing lots of training overs as well. She’s in a really good place physically, so we are hoping to get ten overs out of Nat.”We’re going to have to really monitor her workloads throughout this tournament clearly, like any of the fast bowlers, depending on how hot it gets,” Edwards added. “Nat loves bowling and I think it helps her batting. She’s been probably one of the most successful bowlers in the WPL over the last few years. So we’re hoping to continue that form into ODI cricket.”

Thomas Frank’s appointment at Tottenham Hotspur has seen a new era begin at the football club, with the Dane tasked with taking the side to the next level under his guidance.

The 52-year-old has already formed numerous impressive partnerships across the first-team squad, with centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero nailing their places down as regular starters.

The duo have started all but three league games together in 2025/26, with the pair no doubt playing a crucial role in the Lilywhites’ away record – which is the joint-best in the division at present.

Spurs’ latest fixture against PSG saw Frank unleash a midfield duo of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, an opportunity which both players took full advantage of, potentially making them the manager’s long-term pairing at the heart of the side.

However, the Dane will no doubt be wishing that he could rely upon a couple of players who set the Premier League alight during their period together in North London.

The success of Kane & Son’s partnership at Spurs

Back in the summer of 2015, Spurs completed the £23m signature of winger Heung-min Son from Bayer Leverkusen – subsequently arriving as an unknown quantity to many supporters.

Such a move came at around the same time as academy striker Harry Kane was making his mark in the first-team ranks after various loan spells across the Football League.

However, not many people could have foreseen the impact they would have alongside one another, with such a partnership being one of, if not, the best, in England’s top-flight.

The pair linked up for 47 goals between one another – the most of any duo in the division’s history – with many of which handing the fans memories to last a lifetime.

A two-year spell between 2020 and 2022 was by far and away their most successful, as the duo linked up on 21 separate occasions for goals – a simply staggering feat.

One game will no doubt stand out, as Kane registered all four assists for Son in the 5-2 demolition of Southampton back in 2020/21 – with such a record putting the Englishman joint-top for most assists in a single English league game.

However, in 2025, Frank is unable to rely upon either of the aforementioned talents, with both moving on to pastures new over the last two years – undoubtedly leaving a huge hole in the Lilywhites’ attack.

The Spurs duo who are becoming Frank’s own Son & Kane

During his time as a manager, Frank has not been alien to iconic duos at the top end of the pitch, with the Dane fortunate to work with multiple elite attackers at Brentford.

In the Championship years and the first few seasons in the Premier League, he was able to rely upon the likes of Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo at the GTEC.

The pair scored 29 combined goals back in 2022/23, 11 goals shy of the tally produced by Kane and Son, but still managed to cement themselves as one of the division’s most threatening pairs.

In the present day, the Spurs boss has none of those players at his disposal in North London, but the Lilywhites hierarchy have handed him the opportunity to improve the options in his current squad.

He took full advantage during the summer window, splashing a reported £55m on the signature of winger Mohammed Kudus from fellow Premier League side West Ham United.

Such a fee will have raised eyebrows, but the Ghanaian international has already made an immediate impact in North London after his controversial transfer.

He’s already managed to register four assists in the Premier League to date, with such a tally putting him joint-top in the division alongside the likes of Jack Grealish and Yankuba Minteh.

The numbers produced by Kudus are similar to Son’s, leading to similarities being drawn due to their ability to create endless opportunities for their teammates in North London.

Their playstyles are also extremely similar, with both talents loving to take on their opponents, before cutting off their respective flanks and getting shots off on goal.

Games played

11

Goals & assists

5

Pass accuracy

87%

Successful crosses

1.8

Successful dribbles

3.3

Dribble success

48%

Chances created

1.5

Duels won

7.1

The other half of Frank’s duo at the top end of the pitch is made up by loanee Randal Kolo Muani, who joined the Lilywhites on a season-long loan from PSG.

The striker has often had to bide his time to regular minutes since his switch, as Richarlison has often been ahead of him in the pecking order, or he’s been sidelined with fitness issues.

However, his showing against his parent side on Wednesday night highlighted his impressive ability within the final third when given an opportunity to thrive.

The 26-year-old netted twice and registered an assist in the 5-3 defeat in the Champions League, but his clinical finishes certainly did show glimpses of what Kane produced in North London.

The pair, who earn a combined £300k-per-week at Spurs, will need time to gel and form a deadly partnership, but the early signs appear positive for the individuals.

If they can click together in the near future, there’s no reason why they can’t star together in the remainder of 2025/26 and potentially lead Frank to a successful first season at the helm.

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Tottenham Hotspur look set to make a huge January move for a new centre-back.

1 ByEthan Lamb Nov 28, 2025

India coach Gautam Gambhir has called for the introduction of injury replacements in Test cricket, a stance which England captain Ben Stokes considers “absolutely ridiculous”.Rishabh Pant, India’s wicketkeeper-batter, retired hurt on the first day of the drawn fourth Test in Manchester but re-emerged on the second day to resume his innings despite scans confirming a fracture in his right foot. Gambhir praised Pant’s bravery, saying “any amount of praise is not enough for him”, but said that injury replacements should be permitted in such instances.”Absolutely, I’m all for it,” Gambhir said. “If the umpires and the match referee sees and feels that is a major injury, I think it’s very important. It’s very important to have this rule where you can get a substitute – that is, if it’s very visible. There’s nothing wrong in doing that, especially in a series like this where it’s been such a closely fought series in the previous three Test matches. Imagine if we would’ve had to play with ten men against 11. How unfortunate would this be for us.”Related

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India were able to use Dhruv Jurel, a substitute, as their wicketkeeper in Pant’s place, but he would not have been available to bat in their second innings. The ICC’s playing conditions allow teams to make replacements if a player is concussed or contracts Covid-19, but there is no scope to replace an injured player.Some boards will trial injury replacements at first-class level later this year, but Stokes said that the conversation should be “shut down and stopped” because any proposal would contain too many “loopholes” for teams to exploit.”I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that there’s a conversation around an injury replacement,” Stokes said. “I think that there would just be too many loopholes for teams to be able to go through. You pick your XI for a game; injuries are part of the game. I completely understand the concussion replacement – player welfare, [and] player safety. But I think the conversation should just honestly stop around injury replacements because if you stick me in an MRI scanner, I could get someone else in straightaway.”If you stick anyone else with an MRI scanner, a bowler is going to show, ‘oh yeah, you’ve got a bit of inflammation around your knee; oh sweet, we can get another fresh bowler in’. I just think that conversation should be shut down and stopped.”Gautam Gambhir on Rishabh Pant: “Any amount of praise is not enough for him, especially batting with a broken foot”•Getty Images

Pant has been ruled out of next week’s fifth Test at The Oval, which starts on Thursday, and replaced in the India squad by N Jagadeesan. Gambhir praised Pant for returning to bat and adding 17 runs after retiring hurt, and said that “generations to come forward” would talk about the bravery.”Rishabh, already it’s been declared that he’s out of the series,” Gambhir said. “One thing I want to say is that the character, the foundation of this team, will be built on something that [he] did for the team and for the country as well. Any amount of praise is not enough for him, especially batting with a broken foot.”Not many people have done that in the past, and he had put his hand up and that is why I say it. Any amount of praise [is not enough]. I can sit here and talk about this for hours and hours. I think the generations to come forward will talk about this, and generations coming forward should talk about it that there is someone who’s batted with a broken foot.”It’s unfortunate because of the kind of form he was in, but again, he’s an important member of the Test side, and I hope he recovers quickly and comes back quickly, and try and deliver again for us.”