The way things are shaping up in the lead-up to the Manchester Test, it looks like India may have to forget about workload restrictions and lean more towards including Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI.
If Arshdeep Singh’s injury in his bowling hand wasn’t enough, fellow pacer Akash Deep too is learnt to be nursing an injury, which makes him doubtful for the fourth Test against England, which begins this Wednesday.
In the previous Test at Lord’s, Akash, taking just one wicket in that game, was seen holding his hips and walking gingerly at one point during England’s second innings. He had left the field too for some time during the fourth afternoon of the third Test.
During training in Beckenham, Akash did not bowl or bat, but underwent fitness drills under the observation of trainer Adrian Le Roux.
A back injury had sidelined Akash since the Sydney Test against Australia earlier in January, before he made a comeback in the IPL for the Lucknow Super Giants.
Even though he did not have much success in the third Test, Akash had proven his worth as a pacer with a match haul of 10 wickets in the second fixture at Edgbaston.
With Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash, India could have had a settled pace unit. But with Akash indisposed, captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir will need to put their thinking caps on and look for an ideal solution, especially with India trailing 1-2 in this Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
The pace unit aside, India may have to make further changes to their XI as seamer all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is learnt to have sustained ligament damage, which makes him uncertain for the remainder of the series. He is learnt to have hurt his left knee during a mobility training session.
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Bruno Fernandes (left) and Shubman Gill, captains of Manchester United and Team India, in Carrington on Sunday. Picture: BCCI
As for the weather in Manchester, it has been raining, and there’s a forecast of rain on the match days as well. Assuming that won’t change, and the conditions will remain overcast and blustery at Old Trafford, continuing with three specialist quicks could be the right way to go.
In that case, with the Arshdeep option too unavailable, India may have to fall back on Prasidh Krishna, who was dropped from the Lord’s Test after his mediocre showing in Leeds and Birmingham. Prasidh did bowl a tad better in the fourth innings at Edgbaston, also picking up the wicket of Chris Woakes, but overall, he was erratic.
In the first innings of that Test, he looked almost helpless during the counterattacking partnership between Harry Brook and Jamie Smith. At the same time, the England batsmen know what to expect from Prasidh, who has struggled to extract movement in both the Tests he has featured so far on the tour.
Haryana quick Anshul Kamboj has been added to the squad as a cover for the injured players. But will the Indian team management take a gamble and give him a Test debut at Old Trafford?
It’s not that the 24-year-old Anshul has no idea whatsoever of the English conditions. He did feature in the two ‘A’ matches against England Lions, finishing with five wickets. In the second ‘A’ game at Northampton, Kamboj was quite impressive, picking up a couple of wickets in each innings.
That included twin strikes in one over of the England Lions’ second innings. Before that, he had shared an unbroken 149-run stand with Tanush Kotian in the same game, which shows he’s no mug with the bat either.
As he is unknown to the England batting group, Kamboj may prove to be a surprise element. Also, apart from being skiddy and having the ability to hit the deck hard, he can get the ball to move as well.
Prasidh and Kamboj aside, India have all-rounder Shardul Thakur too at their disposal. And also chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav. The Old Trafford surface, being one of the bounciest in England, aids wrist-spinners. But will luck be smiling on Kuldeep?