Very glad that Prasidh is back, says Sunil Joshi

Prasidh Krishna looked fit. And he looked menacing.

It was Prasidh’s fiery spell that ended the spirited resistance of India-C and won the Duleep Trophy for India-A late into the final hour at the Rural Development Trust Stadium. India-A coach Sunil Joshi smiled broadly as he talked of the seamer’s superb show, in only his second game after taking a lengthy break necessitated by injury.

“I am very glad that he has come back into form and is back in the reckoning,” Joshi told The Hindu. “He was bowling at good speed too, clocking 140’s consistently.”

The former India all-rounder is also happy that the Duleep Trophy final was played on a sporting track. “This was one of the best wickets I have come across in India,” he said. “It was nice that there was something for the bowlers and the batters.”

The crowd, he felt, was another positive. Large number of people turned up every day.

“It is important to take the game to smaller cities and towns like this,” Joshi said. “Some of the kids might be inspired to take up cricket after watching all these Test and IPL players.”

Joshi is all praise of Shashwat Rawat, one of the finds of the tournament. Not merely the left-hander topped the batting average (85.33) but looked solid in defence and attractive in his strokeplay. “I had seen his numbers in the Ranji Trophy as I follow domestic players closely,” said the former chief national selector. “He is a compact and elegant player. And I think the selectors led by Ajit Agarkar have done a good job in picking the teams for the Duleep Trophy.”

Talking of the final, he felt his team played the perfect red-ball cricket. “Captain Mayank Agarwal did a good job,” he said. “Our spinners Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian bowled well, and I thought it was a splendid innings by India-C’s Sai Sudharsan.”