Daijiworld Media Network – Manchester

Manchester, Jul 21: India’s hopes of staging a comeback in the five-match Test series against England have taken a hit as key players Nitish Kumar Reddy and Arshdeep Singh have been ruled out due to injuries, ahead of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Manchester, starting July 23.

Reddy, a promising all-rounder, has been sidelined with a left knee injury and will miss the remainder of the series. The BCCI confirmed his withdrawal and wished him a speedy recovery. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh suffered an impact injury to his left thumb during a training session in Beckenham and will also miss the Manchester clash.

In response, the BCCI has added young Chennai Super Kings pacer Anshul Kamboj to the squad. He has already joined the team in Manchester.

Despite injury concerns, Akash Deep remains in the squad, though uncertainty surrounds Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for the match. If Bumrah is rested, selectors face a tough call on which pacer to bring into the XI. Meanwhile, calls grow louder for spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s inclusion, though he is yet to feature in the series.

India trails 1-2 in the series, making the fourth Test a must-win to keep the series alive.

India’s updated squad for 4th test:

Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj.