India is set to play the 4th Test against England starting Wednesday at Old Trafford in Manchester. After being 1-2 down in the 5 match series, the team needs to win to avoid losing the series in England. Injuries have made it tough for them.
BCCI announced on Monday that all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy will miss the rest of the tour due to a knee injury he sustained in the gym. Left arm pacer Arshdeep Singh can’t play the 4th Test due to a cut on his bowling arm. Fast bowler Akash Deep is still dealing with a groin issue and it’s not clear if he’ll be available.
To support the pace attack the team has called up Anshul Kamboj, an uncapped pacer from Haryana as a backup. Even with this addition India is still trying to figure out the best bowling combination.
Mohammed Siraj spoke at the pre-match press conference in Manchester on Monday. When asked about the team’s combination for the next Test Siraj didn’t reveal much, he said I just got here from training so I don’t know what combination we’ll be using. I want it to be whatever is best for the game.
He was asked if the team will bring in Kuldeep Yadav or play the same combination from the first game in Leeds. Siraj replied I just got here from training so I don’t know what combination we’ll be using. I want it to be whatever is best for the game.
Siraj is the only Indian fast bowler to have played all 3 Tests so far. Assuming he stays fit he’ll play all 5 matches. The 31 year old has bowled a lot, 109 overs so far – the most by any Indian pacer in the series.
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Jasprit Bumrah who missed the 2nd Test to manage his workload has bowled 86.4 overs. Prasidh Krishna has bowled 62 overs in 2 games and Akash Deep has bowled 72.1 overs in 2 matches.
Thankfully I’ve been healthy so far. The workload should be thought of, according to what the book says, the number of overs I’ve bowled is right, said Siraj who has taken 13 wickets in the series including a 6 wicket haul at Edgbaston.
My goal is to use the opportunity and win games for India, he signed off.
