Follow UsIndia's fast bowling resources have further depleted as Akash Deep has been ruled out of the Manchester Test against England due to a groin injury. This adds to India's woes as Arshdeep Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy too were ruled out of the Test.
However, with Jasprit Bumrah set to play, India now have to pick between Prasidh Krishna and Anshul Kamboj as their third seamer. Prasidh played the first two Tests of the series, picking up six wickets along the way. Kamboj, on the other hand, has earned his maiden Test call-up, and skipper Shubman Gill believes he is very close to making his debut.
“Akash Deep is unavailable, so is Arshdeep, but we have good players in the team to pick up 20 wickets. It is not ideal to have different bowlers, but I was prepared,” Gill said ahead of the crucial fourth Test.
“He is very close to making his debut. We will see between Prasidh and Anshul tomorrow,” he added.
Gill has also confirmed Rishabh Pant, who hurt his finger while keeping at Lord's, will continue to don the gloves at Old Trafford as well.
There have been talks of whether Karun Nair should keep his place in the XI with Sai Sudharsan waiting in the wings. Karun has gotten off to a start but is yet to go past 40 in his six innings in the series, which is frustrating from an Indian point of view. However, Gill has backed the senior batter, indicating that he could very well retain his place.
“He didn’t bat at his number in the first game, and we have had conversations with him, and he will turn it around,” Gill said.
England lead the five-match series 2-1. India have to win in Manchester to keep the series alive.