MANCHESTER: With the crucial fourth Test at Old Trafford Cricket Stadium in Manchester only a couple of days away, India's troubles only seem to be mounting. Amid all the uncertainties over pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's participation in the match and a cut in Arshdeep Singh's bowling hand, which required stitches, the visitors now have to deal with Akash Deep's injury.
Given the situation they are in, Shubman Gill and Co have added Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj to the squad for the fourth match scheduled to begin on Wednesday. The pacer reached Manchester on Sunday. What also does not help their case is that all-rounder Nitish Reddy is likely to be ruled out of the series due to injury. Reddy’s damaged ligament and knee injury meant he was among the six other players who did not attend the optional training session behind closed doors on Sunday.
Akash Deep, the 28-year-old right-arm fast bowler, who plays for Bengal in domestic cricket, featured in the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year and suffered back injury ahead of the fifth match in Sydney before being ruled out of the series. He then spent a couple of months at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehabilitation before joining his IPL franchise, Lucknow Super Giants. He replaced Jasprit Bumrah in the second Test at Edgbaston and claimed ten wickets (four in the first innings and six in the next) playing a key role in India's win over their opponents. Akash Deep bowled 20 overs in the first essay and followed it up with 21.1 overs in the second innings.
At Lord's with Bumrah returning to the playing XI, Akash Deep apparently struggled with his rhythm and could pick only one wicket in the match. He toiled for 23 overs in the first innings without success and bowled only eight overs in the next innings managing a solitary wicket. He also walked out of the field on Day 4 afternoon for some treatment but what ailed him then could not be ascertained.
Even during the training session in Beckenham, on the outskirts of London, on Thursday, Akash Deep did not bowl or bat. He only did a few fitness drills there. It was during India's first nets at the place after the Lord's loss, Arshdeep got injured giving the team yet another jolt. He was trying to stop a ball in his follow through but got a cut in his bowling hand in the process. The Punjab pacer is apparently out at least for the upcoming Test.
Workload management has been one of the biggest talking points ahead of any long series - be it at home or overseas - with Bumrah at the centre of discussion. Bumrah played all the five matches Down Under captaining India to victory in the first match at Perth. He, however, suffered lower back injury on the penultimate day of the last Test in Sydney, which kept him out of England's white-ball tour of India and 2025 Champions Trophy. The pacer then returned to action in the IPL for his franchise Mumbai Indians. Similarly, Siraj was rested for England white-ball series and was not picked for the Champions Trophy.
If the number of overs bowled by Indian bowlers in the ongoing series are taken into consideration, Siraj is first on the list with 109 overs. He is also the leading wicket taker with 13 scalps. Bumrah has bowled 86.4 overs in the two matches so far with 12 wickets in his kitty, the second most successful bowlers of the series so far. Akash Deep has bowled 72.1 overs so far in the couple of games he has played.
England's off spinner Shoaib Bashir tops the list of bowlers with most overs in the series with 140.4 overs to his credit. Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse are second and third respectively with 121 and 117 overs respectively. Skipper Ben Stokes has bowled 105 overs so far in the series. All these English players have featured in all the three games so far.
India still have two options in Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna if Arshdeep and Akash Deep could not play the Manchester match. Thakur featured in the first match at Leeds claiming two wickets while Prasidh played the first two Tests bagging six wickets albeit at an economy of 5.33 before being benched.
If they decide to go with Kamboj overlooking Thakur and Prasidh, his two matches with India A ahead of the series could prove handy. He had claimed five wickets in the two matches and scored 51 not out in the second game at Northampton. Next 48 hours will paint a clearer picture.
