Prasidh Krishna faces three weeks out with India's New Zealand ODI squad still to be named

Prasidh Krishna is expected to need about three weeks before he is fully fit, leaving his place in India’s one-day squad for New Zealand unresolved

Prasidh Krishna is set to spend around three weeks out of action with the left hamstring injury he sustained in the second ODI against West Indies in Guwahati, according to a report in the Times of India.

The 30-year-old seamer has checked into the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where he is expected to regain full fitness in roughly three weeks and to bowl at full intensity in four.

That leaves him doubtful for the Ranji Trophy round beginning on 11 October and uncertain for the five-match one-day series in New Zealand, which starts on 4 November.

How the injury happened

The BCCI confirmed the problem in a media advisory on 1 October, saying Prasidh had sustained a left hamstring injury during the second ODI in Guwahati and had been ruled out of the third.

Anshul Kamboj was named as his replacement by the Men’s Selection Committee and joined the squad in Chandigarh.

Prasidh had dismissed Keacy Carty and conceded 45 from five overs before leaving the field during the West Indies innings, according to reports of the match.

A recovery measured in weeks

The reported timeline puts full fitness at about three weeks and full-intensity bowling at four, which would bring him to the New Zealand one-day leg rather than comfortably clear of it.

Even on that schedule there is no guarantee he would be ready for the start of the series, and the board has said nothing about his recovery beyond the 1 October advisory.

He has been a first-choice seamer in the format when available, with 53 wickets in 30 ODIs and a best of 5-23 against Afghanistan.

Karnataka’s opener arrives first

Karnataka begin their Ranji Trophy campaign against Andhra Pradesh in Vijayawada on 11 October, and Prasidh remains in their 15-man squad for the season.

The opening round falls inside the three-week window, which puts his involvement in it in doubt.

A first-class outing would ordinarily be the natural way back for a bowler returning from a hamstring injury before an overseas tour.

The squad still to be named

India’s T20I and India A squads for the New Zealand tour were named on 6 October at a selection meeting in Guwahati, with Pragyan Ojha in interim charge of the selection committee.

The one-day and Test squads for the tour have not been announced, so Prasidh’s availability is a live question for the selectors rather than a settled absence.

The T20Is run from 22 October to 1 November, the five ODIs from 4 to 15 November, and the first Test begins on 19 November.

Gill wants a settled attack

India’s captain, Shubman Gill, addressed the effect of the injury list after the defeat in New Chandigarh that closed the West Indies one-day series.

“I would say it’s been unfortunate, you know, with the injuries and with the scheduling with the other matches being around,” Gill told reporters. “It’s been a little bit unfortunate that we have not been able to play the bowling lineup that we would like to.”

“I honestly think there is not that much time to experiment,” he added, with the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind and India hoping to settle on a combination.

Gill said he expected a full-strength squad to be available from the next series, which is the one Prasidh is racing to make.

India’s one-day squad for New Zealand is still to be picked, and Prasidh Krishna’s place in it now rests on how the next three weeks go.

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