Newbie Kamboj hogs the limelight at 'nets'

Manchester: New arrival Anshul Kamboj hogged the limelight during India’s training session here at Old Trafford on Monday by bowling at full tilt for a little over an hour, suggesting he could earn a dream debut cap in the fourth Test against England starting in two days’ time.

The 24-year-old Kamboj, who made a decent impression during the two India A games prior to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and was added to the squad on Sunday, was the centre of attraction during an intense training session. The strapping Haryanvi — watched intently by head coach Gautam Gambhir, bowling coach Morne Morkel and chief selector Ajit Agarkar — gave an indication of his talent as he kept steaming in, testing the Indian top and middle order constantly with his pace and swing. He even hit the deck with some of the deliveries jarring the bat that had Morkel excited.

Although the entire Indian pace attack excluding Akash Deep — hit by a groin injury — bowled in tandem, it was seemingly evident the management focussed more on the youngster who first shot to limelight after taking all 10 wickets in an innings (10/49) against Kerala last year in a Ranji Trophy match at Lahli. After his bowling, he even padded up for a stint at batting, something which Prasidh Krishna was not asked to; Mohammed Siraj sought an excuse from batting and was granted.

Although there’s still another day of training left, it appears as if Kamboj could pair up with Jasprit Bumrah and Siraj for the fourth Test, which India need to win or draw to keep the series, locked 2-1 in favour of England, alive. The buzz is that Akash apparently failed a fitness test and is unlikely to feature at Old Trafford. If the management does pick him, Prasidh could feel hard done by with little fault of his.

Prasidh, who was dropped for the third Test because of Akash’s stellar performance in the second and Bumrah returning for the Lord’s game after being rested in Birmingham, was pilloried for bowling too short at Headingley and Edgbaston, but he was forced to as part of the team’s plans, as admitted by captain Shubman Gill. If Prasidh is ignored for the fourth Test, judging by the happenings at the ‘nets’, it can be considered unfair for a guy who just followed the team’s orders. It's possible that focus was on Kamboj because he's new and the management knows what Prasidh brings to the table. 

Nitish ruled out 

All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the remainder of the series after injuring his knee, while Arshdeep Singh was confirmed to miss the fourth game. 

Rumours started swirling about Nitish’s injury on Sunday, and the BCCI confirmed it on Monday morning just before their ‘nets’ session. “All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remaining two Tests owing to a left knee injury. Nitish will fly back home, and the team wishes him a speedy recovery,” the Board said in a statement. 

The medical team also ruled out uncapped Arshdeep after the left-arm pacer suffered a cut on his bowling hand while trying to stop a ball from Sai Sudharsan during a training session in Beckenham last Thursday. “Arshdeep Singh has been ruled out of the fourth Test against England at Manchester. He sustained an impact injury to his left thumb while bowling in the nets at a training session in Beckenham. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress,” said the BCCI.

India squad:  Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj.