'It's my responsibility': Prasidh targets better lengths, lower economy

Prasidh Krishna has just four Tests to his name, but one area of concern already stands out. An economy rate of 5.07 after 90 overs in the format leaps off the page, and it's one he's keen to address.

That number became a bigger worry in the Headingley defeat, where Krishna went at 6.28 and Shardul Thakur at 5.56. As change bowlers, neither could sustain pressure, compounding India's problems after Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were done with their spells.

"Every time I come into bowl, I'm definitely looking to bowl a maiden and I'm not really trying to give away boundaries or anything," Krishna said. "The outfield [at Headingley] was fast, the lengths, lines that I bowled were not perfect to be honest at most times, and they took me on. Some of them were edges, some of them I tried bowling bouncers, I ended up giving runs.

"So I think somebody in the team had to do it, and if I sit back and say, 'I want to look at my numbers, what my economy is,' and not really look at the wickets, it cost me a 4 and a 6, and then Jamie Smith got out, so if it means that I do that and get a wicket, I'm happy to do it, but definitely every time I come on to the bowl, I am looking to keep the economy down and build the pressure up.

"I had a few conversations with a few of them about this game. I definitely would want to bring that [economy] down to whatever best I can do, and yeah, I think I'm learning as well, I can't say anything, 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," Krishna added.

The lengths Krishna referred to make for an interesting read. On a ground historically known to favour the 'kiss the surface' bowlers who operate in the fuller part of the good length (6-8 metre mark), Krishna bowled an unusually high number - 104 of his 211 balls - short of a good length over the course of the Test. While this length fetched him three of the five wickets he picked up, he also conceded at 7.54 going short. Krishna admitted the overcompensation was due to his reluctance to float balls up for easy drives.

"No, I think if I look at the first innings, I was a little too short than where I wanted to be, that 6 to 8 [metre length] is ideal. Yeah, that's what I would say. I think the second innings got slightly better 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. Yeah, I think so... not wanting to float it up there is definitely one of the reasons, and also, it honestly took me some time to get used to the slope, that's why, yeah, no reasons why I shouldn't be able to do it as a professional, but I take complete responsibility about it, and maybe I'll do it better next time," Krishna added.

The lessons Krishna talks about will need to be learnt quickly, especially with India set to be without Jasprit Bumrah for at least two of the remaining four Tests, part of a pre-series workload management plan. That means greater responsibility on Krishna, both in attack and in defence.

"What the culture that we guys have created is we are learning off each other, no matter who's there, who's around. He's [Bumrah] been talking to all of us all though, even before coming here.

"At least for me, I've been part of this team for a few years now, so the conversations are still going on. One thing you cannot get is experience, that you have to do it yourself, and yeah, I think all of us are excited. If you look at the team, everybody is here, Siraj has played a lot of games, he's going to continue playing, and then whoever comes in, or whatever happens later, it's a great experience, and it's an opportunity for us to be here."

Beyond his primary role with the ball, Krishna will also be expected to contribute more with the bat, following India's twin collapses at Headingley - 7 for 41 in the first innings and 6 for 31 in the second - that denied them the chance to bat England out of the Test. The Indian lower-order has been hard at work in the nets, and Krishna is conscious of the need to put a higher price on his wicket.

"As the lower order batsmen, we definitely are working on it... if you look at our nets session, we are putting in the work, I think it is about putting your mind in there as well, making sure you trust yourself, trust the skill that you have, and be there at the crease for a little longer, and then the numbers and the runs are going to show, and we are working towards it."