Having learnt from last season, bowlers have slight upper hand this year: Prasidh

New Delhi, April 27: India and Gujarat Titans pacer Prasidh Krishna believes bowlers have made a strong comeback after a challenging last IPL season marked by towering totals, partly due to the use of saliva to shine the ball this time.
The 2024 IPL season had witnessed a series of high-scoring matches, with bowlers left searching for answers against the batters’ dominance. However, Prasidh feels the bowlers till now has held “slight upper hand” this season.
“It’s very good that we’ve learnt of one bad season. And the bowlers didn’t really take too much time.They have really worked on the execution. The plans have been very clear,” Prasidh said during a media interaction on JioHotstar Press Room.
“Every single time you watch somebody go through their over. Or any bowling side go through their whole strategy, it’s pretty evident that they know what they’re doing. They’ve learnt from a bad season.
“Everybody has done a good job. I’m very happy that the bowlers are slightly on the upper hand, the totals haven’t been that high,” he said.
Ahead of IPL 2025, the BCCI lifted the ban on the use of saliva as a ball-polishing agent. The restriction had originally been enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic as a health precaution.
Prasidh, currently the joint-highest wicket-taker alongside Royal Challenger Bengaluru’s Josh Hazlewood, admitted that the return of saliva has had a subtle but significant impact.
“It has played a bit of a part because if you look at what the ball does with the saliva on it, even if it means that one out of the 120 balls stays in a little more, that means you get a wicket.
“That’s an extra dot ball. And if that happens at a crucial stage when the right batsman gets out, that means you slow down the run rate of the team, you get the momentum back. So, it has a chain reaction kind of a thing and it’s definitely helped us bowl the game today.”
The towering pacer has returned to competitive T20 cricket after multiple injury layoffs. He missed the last two seasons of the IPL after suffering a stress fracture of the back in 2022 and a quadriceps injury in 2024.
The Karnataka quick conceded that sitting and watching everyone else play the league was “very hard” but he approached his comeback with a decisive mindset.
“Coming into the IPL, I told myself two things could happen: either I return and it’s the same Prasidh with no difference, or I come back as a different bowler, capable of making more impact and controlling the game. I’m glad the better one is happening,” he said.
The 29-year-old is enjoying a stellar season, scalping 16 wickets in eight games at an average of 14.12.
“I was confident that I’d be bowling well but it’s good to have the wickets and the victories right next to your name.”
Talking about his preparation, he said: “I didn’t really do anything different. The preparation was better. I was very clear about what I wanted to work on. Made sure I put in the hours, had the right conversations with (coach) Ashish Nehra.
“One thing that I have learnt from him in the few months that I have worked with him is about reading the conditions, reading the pitch, making sure you make the right decisions when you are at the top of the mark.”
“I think all of these things help you be more confident. And that confidence is translating incredibly well in your performances.” (PTI)