Virat Kohli unveils India’s ‘surprise package’ for T20 World Cup in Australia; he's from Bengaluru

Indore: Captain Virat Kohli has revealed India’s “surprise package” for the ICC T20 World Cup to be played in Australia later this year.

After India defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second T20I at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Tuesday night (January 7), the skipper made this statement.

“I think there’ll be one player who will be a surprise package. Prasidh Krishna is someone who has bowled really well in domestic cricket,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

The 23-year-old right-arm paceman Prasidh plays for Karnataka in the domestic circuit. He made his first-class debut in 2015 and has so far featured in six games. The Bengaluru boy has also played 41 List A (50 overs) and 28 Twenty20s.

At the moment, Prasidh has been sidelined from the ongoing Ranji Trophy due to an injury. He hogged the limelight in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2018 as he impressed with the ball for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Coming back to the second T20I, Kohli called the team’s performance clinical and praised paceman Navdeep Saini, who was adjudged the Man-of-the-match.

“This was a clinical performance, and that’s how we want to build on each series. We have ticked a few more boxes this time. Brilliant (bowling) from Navdeep (Saini). He has done well in ODI cricket, and he’s bowling well in T20s, with experienced guys like Jasprit, Bhuvi and Shardul. It’s a really good sign for the team,” the skipper said.

Saini took two wickets for 18 runs in his four-over spell as India restricted Sri Lanka to 142/9 in 20 overs. In reply, India won in 17.3 overs for the loss of three wickets. Opener KL Rahul was the top-scorer with 45.

The three-match series is 1-0 in favour of India. The opening match was washed out in Guwahati. The third and final T20I is in Pune on January 10.