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With the Indian cricket team heading into the fourth Test with the series standing 2-1 in favour of the hosts, England, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday, July 21 added youngster Anshul Kamboj as cover after injury ruled all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy from the remainder of series along with Arshdeep Singh, who will miss the fourth Test due to an injury.
The right-arm pacer joined the side a few days back and trained with the players in Manchester. While he is in line to make his debut with injuries to several players, including Rishabh Pant, Akash Deep, etc., it is still to be seen who gets a nod for the fourth Test, hoping to level the series in Manchester.
Anshul's performance was better, but you kept Harshit Rana looking at continuity: Aakash Chopra
With a clarity still awaited, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has questioned the inclusion of Anshul Kamboj over Harshit Rana. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former India opener questioned the Indian team management, saying, "Harshit Rana is not there. Now you have to wonder, what actually goes on? How do you determine who to keep and who to let go of? If you talk about performances for India A, Anshul's performance was better, but you kept Harshit Rana looking at continuity."
He was of the opinion that if the team was looking to prolong a player’s career in the format, they should have looked towards Rana and not Kamboj. "If that was the case, then you should have kept Harshit Rana now as well. But he is not there; Anshul Kamboj is there. No clarity whatsoever. Maybe the management knows, but nobody is telling us anything. This comes as no surprise. Anshul Kamboj was deserving; he is now with the team," Chopra continued.
It is to be noted that Harshit Rana was added into the Indian squad ahead of the first Test, but returned at a later date. The Indian pacer was part of the team that traveled to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2024-25, where he featured in two Tests.
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
