The fourth Test between India and England is underway at the iconic Old Trafford Cricket Stadium in Manchester. With England leading the series, India are in for a do-or-die Test as they trail 2-1 in the five-match series.
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Leading up to the game, the Indian side was sweating over multiple injury concerns. Nitish Reddy was ruled out of the series with a ligament tear, while Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep have been ruled out of this Test match.
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India have handed Test cap No. 318 to young Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj, who was recently added to the squad.
He makes his debut in the fourth Test against England in Manchester. Sanjay Manjrekar has praised the selection, calling Kamboj "a good choice" for the conditions.
Anshul Kamboj makes Test Debut at Old Trafford
Kamboj, who plays for Haryana, has been selected to play in the fourth Test match against England. He replaces the injured Akash Deep, who has been ruled out of the match.
The 24-year-old was selected ahead of Prasidh Krishna, who had played the opening two Tests but was unconvincing with the ball.
Manjrekar, reacting to the news, praised India's decision to hand Kamboj his debut. He highlighted how the overhead English conditions in Manchester made the right-arm pacer's selection logical.
"Well, I think it's a good choice because now we see the overhead conditions," Manjrekar said. "You can see, finally, we have English conditions in England. And I want a bowler who can just put the ball in the right areas -- you know, the cliché term."
Why was Anshul Kamboj selected for the fourth Test at Old Trafford?
Manjrekar further highlighted that it was wise for India to bring in someone like Kamboj, who's in rhythm and is much more confident after his good work in the warm-up games, rather than bringing back an out-of-form Krishna.
"Prasidh Krishna has played and was left out because of form, so no point in bringing him back with the kind of confidence and form here. This guy is just right and impressed all of us in the warm-up games as well...So it’s a good choice considering his style of bowling."
Kamboj took 5 wickets and scored a half-century against the England Lions in 2 matches leading up to the series. He also had a fantastic domestic campaign.
In 24 matches this season, he took 79 wickets, including 10 wickets in an innings against Kerala in a Ranji Trophy game. Kamboj can also be a handy batting option in the lower order, adding depth to India's lineup.
India have made three changes for the Manchester Test. Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur will replace Karun Nair and Nitish Reddy, respectively.
India's Playing XI for 4th India vs England Test
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- KL Rahul
- Sai Sudharsan
- Shubman Gill (c)
- Rishabh Pant (wk)
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Washington Sundar
- Shardul Thakur
- Anshul Kamboj
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Mohammed Siraj
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