IND vs ENG: Jasprit Bumrah or Akash Deep? Team India forced to rotate duo for final two Tests
After left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh suffered a hand injury, Team India have been dealt another major blow in their fast bowling department as pacer Akash Deep is likely to be ruled out of the fourth Test against England.
TimesofIndia.com has learnt that India's Edgbaston hero, Akash Deep, is reportedly dealing with a recurring back issue that has flared up again. He found it difficult to complete his spells during the second innings at Lord's and remains a doubtful starter for the fourth Test on Wednesday.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
The team management has already called up Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj as cover for the injured Arshdeep and Akash Deep.
TimesofIndia.com has also learnt that with the series on the line, India's spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will be playing in Manchester.
"Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep won't be playing together in the remaining two Tests," a source tracking the development told TimesofIndia.com.
Why Team India came to Manchester from London via train and walked in rain
"It was decided before the tour that Bumrah will only play three Tests in this series, and now with Akash's back niggle flaring up, we can't see both of them playing in the XI together.
"If Bumrah plays in Manchester, then Akash will sit out. At The Oval, Akash will replace Bumrah," said the source.
On Day 4 of the third Test at Lord's, during the 28th over of England's innings, Akash Deep walked off the field after experiencing discomfort. Accompanied by the team physio, the pacer appeared to be in pain as he clutched his lower back and winced while heading to the dressing room.
Poll
How concerned are you about India's fast bowling depth for the remaining Tests?
Very Concerned
Somewhat Concerned
Not Concerned
"He is walking very gingerly. Not a good sign for India,' former England captain Michael Atherton had said in commentary.
Akash Deep had faced back issues during the Australia tour as well, and the injury kept him away from cricket for three months.
The Bengal pacer even joined his IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants two weeks after the start of the season.
Akash Deep press conference: On replacing Jasprit Bumrah, message from Gautam Gambhir and more
Akash Deep shone bright with a 10-wicket haul in India's series-levelling 336-run win over England at Edgbaston. He picked up 4/88 in the first innings and then followed it up with a splendid 6/99 in the second essay to return with impressive match figures of 10/187.
The 28-year-old pacer's effort helped India draw level in the five-match series after losing the opener by five wickets at Leeds.
Akash Deep didn't bowl in a nets session organised by the Indian team before leaving for Manchester.
Ryan ten Doeschate press conference: Updates on Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and Arshdeep Singh
India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate had hinted at the seamer's injury during a media interaction, while explaining why bowling coach Morne Morkel was rolling his arms at the nets.
"Arsh going away there after he cut his hand and Akash not bowling today. Sometimes we run a bit thin, and if we think the practice is good, someone bowling 20 yards and a bit taller and shaking a new ball, it is good practice for the batters," said the coach.
The fourth match of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy will start from July 23 at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
29 minutes ago
- India Today
Humpy reaches Chess World Cup semi-final, Harika-Divya set for tiebreak decider
The Indian charge at the FIDE Women's Chess World Cup stayed strong on Sunday, with Koneru Humpy leading the way into the semifinals after a rock-solid draw against China's Yuxin Song. Having already won the first classical game, Humpy only needed a half-point to go through—and she made it look like business as opponent came out swinging with the trendy Jobava London setup, hoping to unsettle the veteran. But the Indian Grandmaster wasn't in the mood to oblige. She equalised quickly, gave up a couple of pawns for dynamic play, and coolly worked her way back into a balanced endgame. Song huffed and puffed for 53 moves, but Humpy never blinked. One point in the bank, and a semifinal ticket in the the all-Indian quarterfinal between D Harika and Divya Deshmukh played out like a well-matched arm wrestle—no clear winner in either game. With two draws on the board, they'll now head to Monday's rapid and blitz tiebreakers. One of them will join Humpy in the final four, guaranteeing India two semifinalists in Baku. For R Vaishali, though, the campaign ended in heartbreak. She had her chances against former world champion Tan Zhongyi, especially after a promising middlegame. But one slip was all it took for Tan to pounce. The Chinese Grandmaster tightened the screws, and Vaishali couldn't recover in seed Lei Tingjie also advanced, dispatching Georgia's Nana Dzagnidze to complete a Chinese one-two in the three Indians in the quarters and at least two now confirmed in the semis, India's presence at the World Cup continues to make headlines. And with a Candidates spot on offer for the top three, the stakes are only getting higher.- Ends
India Today
29 minutes ago
- India Today
Shahid Afridi breaks silence on India-Pakistan match fiasco: There is one rotten egg
Controversial Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi stoked fire on Sunday, July 20 against the Indian team, which pulled out of their match against Pakistan at the World Championship of Legends (WCL 2025). Multiple players from the Indian team opted out of the exhibition game against Pakistan due to the presence of Shahid Afridi, who had made some problematic statements against India during the tensions between the two to the local media on Sunday, the day that the match was scheduled to be played, Shahid Afridi claimed that even the Indian cricketers were disappointed to not play the game and blamed the pull-out on Shikhar Dhawan, who had publicly announced that he would not play the exhibition match if Afridi was part of the Pakistan line-up. Afridi called Dhawan a 'rotten egg' and blamed him for 'spoiling' the rest of the Indian cricketers. "...Sports brings countries closer. If politics comes between everything then how will you move forward? Without communication, things cannot be solved. The idea for these kinds of events is also to meet one on one. But you know, there is always one rotten egg, which spoils everything," Shahid Afridi told the media on Sunday, July further added fuel to the fire by insinuating that Dhawan was an embarrassment for his nation. He went on to add that the Indian team should have stayed home if they did not want to play cricket at the WCL 2025."They trained a day before the match. I think that they pulled out just because of one guy. Even the Indian team is very disappointed. They were here to play. I am telling you, you should be a good ambassador for the country, not an embarrassment," Afridi said. Shahid Afridi's Double StandardsThe words of sports diplomacy come in sharp contrast to the comments made by Shahid Afridi in the month of April, where he had alleged that the Indian government carried out attacks on its own citizens in Pahalgam."The terrorists continued to kill people in Pahalgam for an hour, and not a single Indian soldier out of 8 lakh showed up. But when they did, they blamed Pakistan," Afridi had told local reporters in Pakistan."India carries out terrorism itself, kills its own people, and then puts the blame on Pakistan," he Sunday, Afridi turned up in another avatar, stating that he was there as an ambassador of cricket and was hugely disappointed that the match did not take place at were very excited to play the second match (vs India). I thought we would be at the ground. We were expecting 17,000–18,000 fans, who would have enjoyed the match. But yeah, it is quite disappointing that we did not play," he said on further claimed that if he had known that the Indian team had problems with his presence, he would have removed himself from Sunday's game."If they did not play for me, I would have stayed home. Cricket should have continued. Who is Shahid Afridi in front of cricket? No one. If they did not want to play why did they come here? Go sit at home and play between yourselves," he India vs Pakistan match at WCL 2025 was supposed to be the first cricketing event between India and Pakistan since Operation Sindoor. However, the match was called off after a massive backlash from Indian citizens on social media, who questioned the former cricketers for participating in an event alongside Pakistan cricketers amid cross-border tensions with the neighbouring state.- EndsTune InMust Watch
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
FIDE Women's World Cup: Divya vs Harika in quarterfinal tiebreaks; format explained
Two Indians will be in action in the tiebreaks of the quarterfinals of the FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, on Monday. Divya Deshmukh and Harika Dronavalli drew both classical games in the all-Indian last-eight clash. The winner of the contest will join compatriot Koneru Humpy, and China's Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi in the semifinals. When will the quarterfinal tiebreaks happen? The quarterfinal tiebreaks will start from 4:35 PM (IST) on Monday, July 21. READ | Humpy becomes first-ever Indian to reach Women's World Cup semifinals, Vaishali knocked out What is the tiebreaker format in FIDE Women's World Cup? If the two-game classical match ends with shared points, the following tiebreaks, in order, decide the winner: Two-game match - 15 minutes for each player with a 10-second increment, starting from the first move. Two-game match - 10 minutes for each player with a 10-second increment, starting from the first move. Two-game match - Five minutes for each player with a three-second increment, starting from the first move. Two-game match - Three minutes for each player with a two-second increment, starting from the first move. Players keep contesting 3+2 games until a decisive result determines the match winner A new drawing of colours will take place for all levels of tiebreaks. The World Cup offers three spots to the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament, set to happen in the first half of 2026.
