‘Didn’t expect that reaction’ – Prasidh Krishna on spat with Joe Root

Pacer Prasidh Krishna and seasoned batter Joe Root got into a verbal altercation on Day 2 of the fifth Test match between India and England at The Oval. Later, when speaking about the incident, the pacer said he was surprised by Root’s response.

After a strong opening partnership between Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, in which the latter was dismissed by Prasidh after a half-century, Root reached the crease. Minutes into his stay, the England hitter, who often maintains his composure and stays out of on-field altercations, seemed upset. He was struck in the glove by a strong delivery from  Prasidh Krishna on just his first ball. “You look in great shape,” the Indian pacer commented to Root after that.

The former English skipper was agitated by the remark, and they exchanged a few words in an emotional reply. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena stepped in when the altercation got out of hand and reprimanded Prasidh for acting with excessive violence. As the interactions between the two camps proceeded in the ensuing overs, Dharmasena closely monitored  Prasidh Krishna. But in the end, Root was fired for 29 thanks to Mohammed Siraj. The Karnataka pacer was taken aback by Root’s reaction after the day’s action.

“I don’t know why Rooty [reacted]. I just said, ‘You’re looking in great shape,’ and then it turned into a lot of abuse and all of that,” he told the BBC’s Test Match Special.

I am able to irritate the batter and elicit a response from them: Prasidh Krishna

Prasidh Krishna confirmed at the press conference later that day that the team had, in fact, intended to speak with Root verbally as part of a strategy.

“That was the plan, but I didn’t expect the couple of words I said to get such a big reaction from him. That’s just who I am when I’m bowling, when I’m enjoying. If it means that I have a bit of a chatter with the batter… and it does help me when I can get under the nerves of the batsman and get a reaction from them. But I love the guy that he is. He is a legend of the game and I think it is great when two people are out there wanting to do the best and be a winner at a given moment,” he added.

Marcus Trescothick, the assistant coach for England, acknowledged that the verbal strategy might have momentarily benefited India but noted that each player handles sledging differently.

“I think they made a comment, didn’t they? He [Prasidh] obviously tried to get after him [Root] and spark him up a little bit. Maybe they have seen him play so well over the last couple of games that India tried a different approach, and Joe bit back, as sometimes he does. Normally, he is the sort of guy who just laughs and giggles and allows things to happen, but today he just chose a different route. Everyone has their own method of dealing with that sort of approach, and today Joe bit back,” Trescothick said after the day’s play.