Ahead of the fourth Test match against England, Team India`s all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out for the remainder of the series. It is learnt that he sustained a left knee injury during a gym session with the team on Sunday.
Along with him, pacer Arshdeep Singh will also not be available for the Manchester clash, as he, too, is owing to an injury.
In the absence of these two players, speedster Anshul Kamboj has linked up with the Indian squad in Manchester. There are high chances of the 24-year-old receiving his debut cap for the fourth Test.
The fourth Test match holds significant importance as the visitors have found themselves in a do-or-die situation. Earlier, they suffered a loss by 22 runs in the third Test match at the Lord`s Cricket Ground.
After the loss, the Ben Stokes-led England has taken a lead of 2-1 in the five-match Test series. The fourth Test match is scheduled to be played from July 23 at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
Additionally, it will be important for lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah to make his appearance in Manchester. Considering his workload management, the pacer was advised not to play consecutive Test matches.
The pacer has already played two games and is now left with just one match. If he features in the fourth Test, and the result ends in the visitors` favour, the series will then be tied at 2-2.
If India wins the fourth Test, they will then miss the services of the pacer in the series decider (fifth Test match). If the result of the fourth Test doesn`t end in India`s favour, the pacer`s inclusion in the fifth Test match will hold no importance because by then, the Shubman Gill-led India will have already lost the series.
India`s updated squad for fourth Test against England: 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, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj.
