Manchester, July 21 (IANS) India’s injury woes on their tour of England have deepened with captain Shubman Gill confirming that pacer Akash Deep will miss the fourth Test at Old Trafford due to a groin niggle. The fourth match of the five-Test series begins on Wednesday, with England leading 2-1.

India were already without Arshdeep Singh, who had been ruled out of the Manchester Test earlier, and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was sidelined for the remainder of the series. The latest setback leaves India thin in the pace department and opens the door for uncapped Haryana seamer Anshul Kamboj to make his international debut.

“Akash Deep has a groin niggle and is not available for this match. Anshul Kamboj is very close to making his debut,” said Gill on the eve of the match.

Kamboj, who was recently added to the squad as injury cover, impressed during India’s practice sessions and could slot in as the third seamer. The final decision between him and Prasidh Krishna will be taken on match day.

India will, however, be boosted by the presence of Jasprit Bumrah, who is expected to lead the bowling attack. This will be Bumrah’s third appearance in the series, as planned by the team management.

The weather in Manchester could also influence India’s final XI, with possible rain interruptions potentially easing the load on bowlers over the five days. Anshul Kamboj and Shardul Thakur are also in line to support Bumrah in the pace department, with Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja likely handling spin duties.

India lost the first Test at Headingley in Leeds but won the next match at Edgebaston in Birmingham. They took a 2-1 lead by winning the third Test at Lord’s by a narrow 22-run victory.

Here is India’s squad for the fourth Test:

Shubman Gill (capt), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj.

–IANS

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