Prasidh picks up quadriceps injury in Ranji game

Prasidh Krishna picked up a left quadriceps injury on the first day of Karnataka's Ranji Trophy 2023-24 match against Gujarat in Ahmedabad on Friday, and was subsequently left out of the India squad for the first two Tests of the five-match series against England at home.

Prasidh hobbled off the field after bowling 14.5 overs, during which he picked up the wickets of Manan Hingrajia and Siddharth Desai as Karnataka bowled Gujarat for 264 in 88 overs. PTI understands that Prasidh will play no further part in the match. In general, quadriceps injuries take between four and six weeks to heal, depending on the intensity.

The Karnataka team physio is currently taking care of Prasidh, but as a BCCI-contracted player, he can also link up with the India A support staff, who are also in Ahmedabad for the two-day match against the touring England Lions.

Prasidh made his Test debut during India's recent tour of South Africa after being out of action for nearly a year following a lumbar stress fracture. But he didn't have a great time of it in South Africa, where the Test series was drawn 1-1. He picked up two wickets from the two Tests and had an average of 65, and was the most expensive India bowler across the games, going at an economy rate of 4.64.

With Mohammed Shami yet to be ready for top-tier action, the India squad for the first two Tests has Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan as the frontline pace options.

The first two Tests will be played in Hyderabad (January 25-29) and Visakhapatnam (February 2-6), before the teams move to Rajkot (February 15-19), Ranchi (February 23-27) and Dharamsala (March 7-11).