The Indian management decided to hand young pacer Anshul Kamboj, his maiden Test cap in the ongoing ENG vs IND 4th Test at Manchester. Added to the squad as a cover for Arshdeep Singh, Kamboj earned a spot in the playing XI after the Indian camp was riddled with injuries to fast bowlers. Apart from Arshdeep, Akash Deep is also injured while Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the series.
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Prior to the main series, Kamboj was part of the India A squad that played two unofficial Tests against the England Lions and had impressed there. Kamboj eventually beat out the likes of Harshit Rana and Mukesh Kumar to earn his spot.
However, the chance did not come easily as initially it was Harshit Rana who was favoured as an injury cover at the start of the series but was later released before Kamboj’s addition ahead of the fourth Test. After the India A tour, Kamboj, however, did not get dejected. Instead, he decided to hone his skills further by bringing some Dukes balls back with him from the UK.
Echoing on the same lines, his coach Satish Rana told Hindustan Times,
“After coming back, Anshul bowled and batted a lot. He was preparing a lot. We thought, as his overall performance was going really well, he would get a chance. Anshul has ample experience bowling with the Dukes ball. The Haryana Cricket Association has played a huge role. He bowled with the Dukes ball after coming here. He worked hard on his batting as well.”
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Kamboj’s coach also revealed how the youngster had one contemplated quitting the sport. It happened just before the 2020 U-19 World Cup, where a serious injury forced him to withdraw.
Satish Rana added, “He was demoralised. Because of his injury, he was not able to play in the U19 World Cup. He was really upset. The U19 World Cup is a big tournament, and it is a stepping stone towards international cricket. But he carried on, and now look, he is making his debut.”
Kamboj has now witnessed a sharp rise in a short time-frame. He became a household name during the last Ranji Trophy season where he became only the third bowler in the tournament’s history to take all 10 wickets of an innings. Earlier this year, he played for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2025 and was one of the few positive for the five-time champions and also earned praises from the veterans of the sport.
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