IPL 2025 has brought back positive memories for Prasidh Krishna, marking his return to competitive T20 cricket after multiple injury layoffs. His previous T20 appearance was a tough outing against Australia in November 2023, conceding 68 runs in four wicketless overs. His most recent IPL game was in 2022, when he played 17 matches for Rajasthan Royals, which is perhaps why a strong start to this season was imperative.
After a challenging time against Punjab Kings, Prasidh proved to be the point of difference in the middle overs, picking 2 for 18 in a match-winning effort against Mumbai Indians. Now, he returns to the Chinnaswamy, hoping to give his Gujarat Titans colleagues intel at a ground he's played a lot of his cricket at.
"It's great to come back home and play in the stadium that we've grown up playing," Prasidh said. "It is exciting, first game in Bangalore as well, so we're looking forward to how it's going to be. And yes, the team is excited about how the tournament has started. We've done quite a few things well; we're trying to get better at a few things. So yeah, it is going to be exciting."
Prasidh admitted he felt some nerves upon his return to the IPL after two seasons. But feeling in great shape physically, after coming back from a lengthy back and quadriceps injury, has alleviated a lot of his fears.
"As much as I try to tell myself that it's just another tournament, just another game, I did feel that I'm coming in after a few years and especially coming in not having played a lot of T20s in the last two years," Prasidh said. "Because the pace of the game has changed from 2022 to 2025.
"So, it did take some time, but that's the game, I think. It keeps moving forward and you have to keep up with the game. And not much has changed for me physically. I have thankfully been playing some cricket now [he was with India on their Test tour of Australia in 2024-25] and the body is letting me do what I want to do.
"Having played a lot of cricket here, you have an idea of what the pitch is going to be like. But no matter how well you know, I think that it comes down to execution that day. It comes down to how the game momentum goes and if you're able to execute your plans well, I think you'll be more or less doing well most of the time."
Prasidh has also enjoyed connecting with Ashish Nehra, the GT head coach. Among the areas he's working on, apart from using his height to extract disconcerting bounce, are variations in the death overs.
"Having played for so long and been so successful, I think it's really important for me to pick his brain," Prasidh said of Nehra. "The conversations have been on similar lines about the decisions that you make as a bowler, the preparation that you would go into games with.
"Handling the situation, handling pressure, what would you do when you're coming up against a challenge. So those are the kind of things that he's been talking to me about, and it is great. You learn different things from different people and this is what I get to learn from Ashish Nehra."
Nehra aside, there's also a boisterous energy in the fast-bowling group that was evident at training. There's Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj and a big-brother-like figure in Ishant Sharma, who has been seen working with a lot of their young uncapped players.
"That's one lovely thing about the IPL. We have a lot of great bowlers in the team. We have a lot of youngsters that have a lot of potential. So, every time we get into the net session, there's so much for us to watch and learn from each other.
"And when you're together, you build a relationship where you go and speak to people, find out how they approach the game, what they are thinking, what differently do they do compared to everybody that we play along with. So it is great to be rubbing shoulders with such experienced guys and also the new guys that are coming on."