We will see between Prasidh and Anshul tomorrow: Shubman Gill

Ahead of the India-England fourth Test at Old Trafford, the visitors have been hit by a spate of injuries. Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep, the two pace-bowling options, have been ruled out of the Test. Arshdeep, the left-arm pace bowler, has picked up an injury on his bowling hand, while Akash has been laid low by a groin issue. He also has had back problems in the past. Nitish Reddy, the all-rounder, has also been ruled out of the series with a knee problem. 

So, a question arises as to who might replace Akash for the Old Trafford Test. Incidentally, Akash played in the second and third Tests of the series, bagging a 10-for at Edgbaston. The uncapped Anshul Kamboj could be one of the options. The right-arm seamer, who has bagged 79 scalps at 22.88 in first-class cricket, was called up to the Indian squad as a cover for the injured pacers. He also partook in the India A-England Lions fixtures, ending up with five wickets. Prasidh Krishna, the tall seamer, is also an option. Although he didn’t have the best of outings in the first two Tests in England, he is said to have bowled impressively in the net session on July 21.

Shubman Gill, the India skipper, is keeping the cards close to his chest. He said in the presser: “Never easy, you know. There are injuries in the squad. Like you said, Nitish is going to miss out on the series. Akash Deep is unavailable, so is Arshdeep, but we have good players in the team to pick 20 wickets. It is not ideal to have different bowlers, but I was prepared,” he noted. “Kamboj is very close to making debut. We will see between Prasidh and Anshul tomorrow,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gill also had some words of comfort for Karun Nair. The veteran batter, who made a comeback into the Test set-up after a gap of nearly eight years, has struggled to make his presence felt in the ongoing series. The right-hander has amassed only 131 runs at an average of 21.83 so far.

From Karun’s perspective, he has been batting at the number 3 slot since the start of the second Test. However, when he has played for Vidarbha or Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy, he has tended to occupy middle order slots. Gill noted, “We think Karun is batting well. It’s difficult when a player is making a comeback in a series like this, you know. But I don’t think there’s been any issue with his batting. I think he’s been batting well.

“Once you’re able to make a 50, then you’re able to get back into your zone and get some big runs. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened for him so far. But we are hopeful that he will be able to turn around,” he pointed out. 

Gill took over the mantle of leading the Test side from Rohit Sharma ahead of the five-match series. He has been in sublime form with the bat, having notched up three centuries in the Test rubber, including a double ton in the Edgbaston Test. But how does he look at the mental side of captaining a team over five days?