Injuries continue to trouble the Indian team on their England tour. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has played two Tests in this series, has suffered a knee injury and will be unavailable for the upcoming matches. Alongside him, Arshdeep Singh will also miss the next game due to injury.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Monday that Nitish has sustained an injury to his left knee and will soon return home. According to ESPNcricinfo, Nitish got injured while working out in the gym.
Nitish did not get a chance to play in the first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy but featured in the second and third Tests. However, at Edgbaston, he had little impact, scoring just one run in each innings and failing to take any wickets.
He performed better at Lord’s, where in the first innings he dismissed England openers Ben Duckett and Jack Crawley in the same over. He took Crawley’s wicket again in the second innings and scored 30 and 13 runs with the bat. Despite his efforts, India lost the thrilling match by 22 runs.
So far, Nitish has played seven Tests for India, scoring 343 runs including one century and taking eight wickets.
The BCCI statement also confirmed that left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh will miss the Old Trafford Test after injuring his left ring finger during net practice.
There are also concerns over Akash Deep, who left the field with discomfort during the Lord’s Test, reportedly due to a groin injury. The BCCI has not issued any statement regarding his condition.
In the most recent Test, Rishabh Pant injured his left index finger while trying to catch a delivery from Jasprit Bumrah and had to leave the field. Dhruv Jurel replaced him behind the stumps.
Pant batted through both innings despite the injury, scoring 74 runs in the first innings and 9 in the second.
Although Pant might not keep wickets in the fourth Test, India is considering including him solely as a batsman, which could open the door for Jurel’s inclusion in the playing XI.
To bolster the injury-hit squad, India has added Haryana pacer Anshul Kumbhoj. He has performed well for India A on this tour against England Lions, taking five wickets in three innings across two first-class matches. The 24-year-old right-arm pacer averages just over three runs per over.
Anshul has played 24 first-class matches so far, claiming 79 wickets and contributing with the bat as well, including a fifty with 486 runs. In the recent IPL, he took eight wickets in eight matches for Chennai Super Kings.
India currently trails 2-1 in the five-Test series against England. The next Test begins this Wednesday.
