Follow UsIn what comes as a huge blow to the Indian side two days before the start of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is reportedly set to miss the remainder of the England tour after damaging his knee during training.
According to both ESPNCricinfo and Times of India, scans showed that Nitish had damaged his ligaments, thereby all but ruling him out of both the remaining Tests.
Nitish has not contributed with the bat so far this series, but he picked up three crucial wickets at Lord’s and is integral to the balance of the side, being 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 make the left-field choice of bringing Kuldeep Yadav into the starting XI, although that seems unlikely.
India have been hamstrung by injuries ahead of the fourth Test. Nitish aside, both Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh are also nursing injuries and are expected to miss the Old Trafford Test.
Pacer Anshul Kamboj has been called-up as cover, and there’s a good chance the CSK man could make his Test debut in two days’ time.