'Lack of game awareness was visible' - Aakash Chopra critical of Prasidh Krishna after India's defeat to Ireland

Former batter Aakash Chopra expressed his disappointment with Prasidh Krishna's performance after India suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Ireland in the first T20I in Belfast on Friday, June 26. The 2026 T20 World Cup winners failed to chase down 183, losing by 34 runs. 

Krishna was arguably India's weak link during the game, giving away 57 runs from his quota of four overs, conceding at an economy of 14.20. 

Chopra was not overly impressed by the right-arm seamer's T20I record despite having a knack for taking wickets. After playing six games in the shortest format, he has an economy rate of 11.54, whilst averaging 34.62. 

"Prasidh Krishna has played six T20Is for India. He has bowled 24 overs in that. Of course, he bowls four overs in every match, which is excellent. He has taken eight wickets. So he is a bit of a wicket-taker, but look at the economy. He concedes 11.5 runs per over," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel. 

Chopra was alarmed that Krishna concedes runs at an unacceptable rate in T20 cricket. He urges the Indian management to look into the huge pool of bowlers to choose from if they decide to play someone in place of the Gujarat Titans bowler. 

He has conceded 277 runs in 24 overs. An innings comprises 20 overs, and if we talk about him conceding 277 runs in his 24 overs, that's way too much. So that has become a cause for concern for sure. They had the option to go towards other bowlers. You said you wanted to play Prasidh Krishna, which is okay, but a slight lack of game awareness was visible," he added.

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It is understandable why India opted to pick Krishna for the T20I against Ireland. The 30-year-old has had an excellent record in recent Indian Premier League seasons for the Titans. He was the Purple Cap winner in 2025 with 25 wickets to his name and ended the 2026 campaign with 16 scalps from 12 matches.