Glenn McGrath has backed Prasidh Krishna to lead India’s pace bowling transition, calling him a complete package who has matured from his days at the MRF Pace Foundation into a bowler ready to fill the void left by Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
McGrath made the remarks as India prepares for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in August 2026, with Bumrah’s fitness still uncertain after a knee injury during the England ODI series. India’s pace bowling depth has been a recurring discussion point, with former cricketers regularly weighing in on who should lead the attack when Bumrah is unavailable.
“I am a fan of Prasidh. He is always given the task of filling the shoes of Shami and Bumrah. It is the transitional period. From seeing him here (MRF Pace Foundation) to watching him bowl in the Indian Premier League, he has matured the way he is bowling and controlling his pace.”
Glenn McGrath, CricToday, 28 July 2026
McGrath coached Prasidh at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, where he served as director of coaching after replacing Dennis Lillee in 2012. Prasidh trained there in 2017 for nearly three months, and McGrath drilled into him the importance of consistent line and length across different surfaces.
That mentoring relationship gives McGrath a perspective on Prasidh’s development that most commentators do not have. He has watched the Karnataka pacer evolve from a raw talent into someone who fits into India’s pace rotation alongside bowlers like Siraj, whose fearless bowling mindset has drawn praise from multiple former cricketers.
“He is tall, hits good areas, gets the bounce and pace. He is the whole package. He is an enforcer when he bowls and the way he went through the crease. He bowls at a good pace and also gets bounce. There was a time when he bowled a bit short, but apart from this concern, he has impressed me. He has developed as a bowler and put his potential into action.”
Glenn McGrath, CricToday, 28 July 2026
Prasidh’s Test record stands at 25 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 31.96. His six-wicket haul against Australia in the Sydney Test during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy remains his strongest red-ball performance. He dismissed Steve Smith twice and broke through when India needed it most.
His IPL form has backed that growth. Prasidh won the Purple Cap in IPL 2025 with 25 wickets in 15 matches for Gujarat Titans. In IPL 2026, he continued that rhythm, picking up four wickets for 28 runs against Lucknow Super Giants, dismissing Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, and Mukul Choudhary in one spell.
The concern has always been his economy in Test cricket. During the 2025 England tour, Prasidh returned the worst economy rate in Test history among bowlers with a minimum of 500 balls delivered, conceding runs at 5.28 per over. He was expensive at Edgbaston, going for 72 runs in 13 overs on Day 3 of the second Test. India’s search for reliable pace options beyond Bumrah has seen names like Harshit Rana and Shivam Dube discussed as alternatives, but Prasidh’s ability to generate bounce and pace keeps him ahead in the pecking order.
McGrath’s acknowledgment that Prasidh “bowled a bit short” at times speaks directly to this. For a bowler standing over six feet tall, the bounce is a natural weapon. The temptation to bang it in short is constant. McGrath, who stood 6’5″ himself, built a career of 563 Test wickets by resisting exactly that temptation and pitching the ball fuller than his height suggested he should.
🔴 GLENN McGRATH HAS FOUND BUMRAH’S PERFECT PARTNER 🤯
🎙️: Glenn McGrath backed Prasidh Krishna to become Jasprit Bumrah’s long-term new-ball partner.
– McGrath said Prasidh has all the qualities to succeed at the highest level, but stressed that consistently getting his length… pic.twitter.com/Z8oAimD88O
— Sam (@cricsam02) July 28, 2026
McGrath Warns Bumrah: Choose Your Format
McGrath did not limit his remarks to Prasidh. He addressed Bumrah’s recurring injury concerns directly, suggesting the 32-year-old must make a hard choice about his career.
“He’s got to find a way to have a bit of longevity. He has had a few injuries unfortunately, but he is a class act and a quality bowler. He will have to decide what he wants to do. It comes down to the choice of focusing on Test cricket or T20 cricket. A lot depends on his body. Guys who hyper-extend their arm put a bit more stress through that joint.”
Glenn McGrath, CricToday, 28 July 2026
Bumrah suffered reactive swelling in his left knee during the second ODI against England in Cardiff on July 17. Scans on July 24 revealed continued soreness, and doctors administered an injection to manage inflammation. He has been advised complete rest until July 30, after which he will travel to the Centre of Excellence for rehabilitation and final clearance scans.
The two-match Test series against Sri Lanka begins in Galle on August 15. If Bumrah does not recover in time, Prasidh and Mohammed Siraj will lead India’s pace attack. Bumrah has been named in the squad, but his availability remains subject to fitness. The pattern of fitness concerns affecting India’s combination has become a recurring theme across formats in 2026.
Insider Read:
McGrath’s comment about hyper-extension is not a passing observation. It is a clinical diagnosis of the problem.
When a fast bowler hyper-extends his arm at the point of delivery, the elbow locks out beyond its natural range. Every ball puts stress through that joint in a way that a bowler with a conventional arm action does not experience. Over a five-day Test, a fast bowler might deliver 120 to 150 balls. Over a three-Test series, that number crosses 400. Multiply that across a full calendar year of Tests, ODIs, T20Is, and the IPL, and the cumulative load on a hyper-extending elbow becomes unsustainable.
This is what McGrath means when he says Bumrah must choose. It is not about preference. It is about what the body can physically handle across a decade. Twenty-three years of playing cricket teaches you one thing clearly: the body keeps a ledger. Every spell bowled at full pace is an entry. A hyper-extending arm accelerates that ledger. At 32, Bumrah’s entries are adding up. McGrath, who played 124 Tests across 14 years with a conventional action, knows exactly what that ledger looks like when a bowler does not make adjustments in time.
The fact that McGrath is simultaneously endorsing Prasidh as the transitional bowler while warning Bumrah about longevity is not coincidence. It is a former coach looking at both sides of the equation: who is ready to step up, and why the step-up is coming sooner than India might want.
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