Is Anshul Kamboj Unfit As Well? 'His Bowling Speeds Were So Low...'

News18

3 days ago

Ravichandran Ashwin has questioned Anshul Kamboj's fitness after India find themselves on the backfoot in the fourth Test.
Ace India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that Anshul Kamboj was bowling way faster in the Indian Premier League than he is in the fourth Test against England in Manchester, questioning the latter's fitness as India stare at an impending defeat not just in the game, but the series as well.
Kamboj had a tough start to his career on the second day of the Test, but ended on a high with his maiden wicket, dismissing a set Ben Duckett.
Kamboj had a huge role to play, with ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj far from their best. But he ended the day with dismal figures of 1/89 off his 18 overs in the innings.
Kamboj even struggled with the second new ball and mixed things up by having Dhruv Jurel upto the stumps.
'I praised Anshul Kamboj yesterday, but I have to say that his bowling speeds were so low, I was quite surprised. I honestly hope he is okay, because he was bowling faster than this in the IPL," Ashwin said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
'He looked like he was struggling a touch. All said and done, the only solution to this (Bowling injuries and inefficiency) is to be able to create a bigger pool of bowlers," Ashwin said.
England had a field day against the struggling Indian bowling unit, which was further aided by optimal batting conditions.
Kamboj, who was a part of the India A team before the five-Test series started, was called in after pacers Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep were sidelined from the Manchester Test because of injuries.
Grappling with a spate of injuries, India made three changes to their playing XI, bringing in Sai Sudharsan, Shardul Thakur and Kamboj in place of Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy and Akash.
The choice for the third pacer was between Prasidh Krishna and Kamboj, who joined the team after Arshdeep picked up a hand injury while training in Beckenham last week.
Anshul has picked 79 wickets in 24 first-class matches at an impressive economy of 3.1.
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