Manchester, July 21 (IANS) India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remaining two England Tests owing to a left knee injury, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on Monday.

Nitish will fly back home, and the team wishes him a speedy recovery, it added.

Reddy, who missed the first Test but played in the second and third, had a quiet outing in Birmingham; he made key contributions at Lord’s, both with bat and ball. His absence could open the door for Shardul Thakur, who played the first Test, to return.

Adding to India’s woes, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has been ruled out of the fourth Test against England at Manchester. “He sustained an impact injury to his left thumb while bowling in the nets at a training session in Beckenham. The BCCI medical team is monitoring his progress,” BCCI said in a release.

To fill-up for Arshdeep’s absence, the men’s selection committee has added Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj to the squad. Kamboj has joined the team in Manchester.

India’s preparations for the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Old Trafford, starting July 23, have suffered another setback with fast bowler Akash Deep nursing an injury. This adds to existing concerns over Jasprit Bumrah’s workload, with the pace spearhead expected to play only one of the last two Tests. Having featured in the first and third matches, Bumrah is likely to return for the Manchester Test after an eight-day break.

India may also consider bringing in Dhruv Jurel as wicketkeeper if Rishabh Pant is limited to a batting role due to a finger injury.

England currently lead the series 2-1 after winning the Lord’s encounter by 22 runs.

India’s updated squad for fourth Test: Shubman Gill (C), 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, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj.

–IANS

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