Anshul Kamboj made his Test debut against England in the ongoing Manchester Test and picked up his first wicket, dismissing Ben Duckett for 94. Kamboj was handed the second new ball, as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were not in their best form. He ended with figures of 1/89 in 18 overs.
However, throughout his spells, fans expressed disappointment over the pace at which he was bowling. Speaking on his YouTube channel, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin echoed those concerns. He said he was surprised by Kamboj’s slower speeds compared to his performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Over 55% of his deliveries in IPL were over 135 kmph.
“I praised Anshul Kamboj yesterday, but I have to say that his bowling speeds were so low, I was quite surprised. I honestly hope he is okay, because he was bowling faster than this in the IPL,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin further shared his concern about Kamboj possibly struggling during the match, but supported India’s move to expand their pace-bowling options, especially with injuries to key players.
“He looked like he was struggling a touch. All said and done, the only solution to this (Bowling injuries and inefficiency) is to be able to create a bigger pool of bowlers,” he added.
Before the five-Test series, Kamboj was part of the India A squad and was drafted in alongside Shardul Thakur and Sai Sudharsan to replace Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, and Akash Deep in Manchester.
After Arshdeep Singh suffered a hand injury during training in Beckenham, India had to choose between Prasidh Krishna and Kamboj. In first-class cricket, Kamboj has taken 79 wickets in 24 matches at an average rate of 22.88.
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