Follow UsFast-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remainder of the England tour after injuring his knee during training, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on July 21 (Monday).
Meanwhile, left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh is also injured and won’t be available for the fourth Test in Manchester, starting on July 23 (Wednesday).
“Nitish will fly back home, and the team wishes him a speedy recovery. Arshdeep sustained an impact injury to his left thumb during a net session in Beckenham. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress,” the BCCI said via a press release.
Anshul Kamboj, who is yet to make his India debut, has been added to the squad for the remaining two Tests. The 24-year-old from Haryana has 79 wickets in 24 first-class games at an average of 22.88 and a strike rate of 44.2.
Nitish didn’t contribute with the bat in the series but picked up three crucial wickets at Lord’s and was integral to the team’s balance as a fourth seamer.
India will now have to make a choice between replacing him with an all-rounder (Shardul Thakur) or a specialist batter. Alternatively, they can also consider the left-field option of bringing Kuldeep Yadav into the starting XI, although that seems unlikely.
There have been reports suggesting that even Akash Deep is nursing an injury and could miss the fourth Test. If that happens, Kamboj will most likely make his debut at Old Trafford.
India are currently trailing 2-1 in the five-match series.
India’s updated squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc and wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj