The upcoming Test in Manchester is a must-win for India
As India go into the fourth Test against England in Manchester trailing the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 1-2, they already have the conundrum whether to play pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah or not.
On top of that, they are unlikely to have the back-up option of Arshdeep Singh as the left-arm pacer cut his bowling arm during a net session on Thursday. According to a report by Indian Express, Arshdeep got stitches to his finger and is mostly unavailable for the Old Trafford Test.
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To add to their woes, now in-form pacer Akash Deep has skipped the net session on Saturday due to a groin niggle. Even though there is a chance he can play the must-win match beginning on Wednesday (July 23), there is no guarantee he will be available.
During the third Test at Lord’s Akash Deep was seen receiving treatment to his back and had to kept away from bowling a long spell during the first and second innings of the match. Even though he bowled 23 overs in the first innings for his 0-92, the Bengal pacer only bowled eight overs in the second innings and claimed 1-30.
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Deep had recently recovered from a stress injury to his lower back which he suffered during the fifth and final Test against Australia in January this year. He only played six games for Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 due to workload management.
If Deep and Bumrah are rested for the fourth Test, India will be forced to play both Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy as the third and fourth pace-bowling options in the team with Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna leading the attack.
India could also bring left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav into the playing XI for the fifth bowling option besides Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Sundar has been the only spinner in the entire series with more than three wickets in single innings when he picked up 4-22 in the second innings of the Lord’s Test.
Krishna has not fared well in the two Tests he played in the series, claiming six wickets and conceding at over 5 runs per over in the first Test in Leeds which India lost.
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