There had been much speculation about whether Jasprit Bumrah would play in the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Finally, Mohammad Siraj has put an end to the uncertainty. He confirmed that India will take the field in Manchester against England with Bumrah in the lineup.
The fourth Test of the series is set to begin this Wednesday. Speaking to the media on Monday ahead of the match, Siraj said, “As of now, we only know that Jassi bhai (Bumrah) will play.”
As a precaution, the team management had rested Bumrah for the second Test of the series. After stellar performances in the first and third Tests, the decision was made to manage his workload. Though he played all the Tests during the last tour of Australia, he had to spend a long time out of action due to injury.
India’s pace attack has been plagued by injuries during the England tour. Promising all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remainder of the series with a knee injury in his left leg. Pacer Arshdeep Singh will also miss the Old Trafford Test after injuring his thumb during net practice.
Akash Deep left the field during the Lord’s Test due to discomfort, and his participation in the fourth Test is uncertain. Media reports suggest he is dealing with a groin issue.
To strengthen the pace attack under these circumstances, India has called up young Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj. Before the series, he played for India A against the England Lions in England.
With Nitish Reddy ruled out, young batter Sai Sudharsan could return to the side. He scored 0 and 30 in his debut Test at Headingley. If he makes a comeback, the team is considering dropping spin all-rounder Washington Sundar to include pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur in the playing XI.
If Akash Deep is unavailable, Prasidh Krishna may return to the playing XI as the third pacer alongside Bumrah and Siraj. He played in the first two matches of the series.
Rishabh Pant injured his left index finger in the third Test. While there were concerns over his ability to keep wickets, on Monday he was seen practicing with the wicketkeeping gloves and batting normally in the nets. Therefore, he is likely to resume wicketkeeping duties without issue.
England currently leads the five-match series 2-1. After losing the first Test, India made a strong comeback in the second. However, the visitors fell behind again after a thrilling defeat in the third Test at Lord’s.
