Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

Manchester, Jul 23: India handed a Test debut to seamer Anshul Kamboj as England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first in the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series at Old Trafford on Wednesday. With England leading the five-match series 2-1, both sides made key changes ahead of the high-stakes encounter.

Kamboj, now India’s 318th Test cricketer, replaces Akash Deep, who is sidelined due to a groin injury picked up during the third Test at Lord’s. Interestingly, Kamboj shares a unique connection with Anil Kumble — the last Indian player to debut in Manchester — as both boast 10-wicket hauls in a single innings in first-class cricket.

In further changes, B Sai Sudharsan comes in for Karun Nair, while Shardul Thakur replaces Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the series with a left knee injury. The shake-up means India take the field with four frontline seamers and the spin option of Ravindra Jadeja.

Skipper Shubman Gill downplayed the toss outcome, saying, “I was actually a bit confused. The surface looks pretty good; a good toss to lose. The way we’ve played has been outstanding—just those crunch moments that have gone against us. All three Tests have been intense right till the final hour. Looks like a nice, hard surface. We’re aware of some weather forecasts, but we’re up for the challenge.”

England made a solitary change, bringing in all-rounder Liam Dawson for the injured Shoaib Bashir. Dawson returns to the Test arena after an eight-year hiatus.

Explaining his decision at the toss, Stokes said, “Some decent overhead conditions here for bowling, so that’s what we’re going to do. We’ve had a good break since Lord’s—just what we needed after such an intense match. The cricket so far has been top-tier from both sides. We’re going toe-to-toe, and there’s not much separating us. Hopefully we play well again and edge it.”

Here are the playing XIs for the fourth Test:

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.