Injuries piling up for India ahead of Manchester Test amid rain threat
Shubman Gill's team fell 2-1 behind in the five-match series after a heartbreaking 22-run defeat in the third Test at Lord's. It extended a worrying trend in the series for the tourists as they dominated large parts of the match, like in the opening match at Leeds, only to lose on the final day.
England found a decisive edge in their bowling with the return of express quick Jofra Archer, whose first Test in four years culminated in a stunning effort across both innings of the Lord's Test.
While Archer and England's tails are up, India are scrambling for answers for the fourth Test that starts in Manchester on Wednesday.
The visitors had already been handicapped by a self-imposed three-match restriction on fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, owing to his fragile fitness following recovery from another serious back injury.
That means the ace pace bowler will play only one of the remaining two matches, having tasted defeat in the two matches he has featured so far in the series.
After the third Test, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said India were 'leaning towards' playing Bumrah in Manchester rather than wait for the final match at the Oval, by which time the series could already be lost.
But over the past few days, the decision has most likely been taken out of the hands of the Indian team management. Impressive left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, who looked highly likely to play the fourth Test, saw his tour cut short even before it started by an unfortunate injury during training.
Arshdeep hurt his bowling hand while fielding the ball in his follow through during a training session. To compound the issues of the team, fast bowler Akash Deep – star of their win at Edgbaston with 10 wickets – saw an old injury in his lower back flare up again.
Deep struggled to get going in the second innings of the Lord's Test and even left the field in discomfort at one point. The pacer did not train with the team and is almost certainly out for the fourth Test, if not the tour.
That means India have no option but to play Bumrah in the fourth Test, with either Prasidh Krishna returning to the team or replacement pacer Anshul Kamboj making a surprise Test debut.
Injuries to fast bowlers is not the only issue plaguing India, who have now lost eight of their past 11 Tests. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant played most of the third Test with a badly injured finger. Dhruv Jurel kept wicket in place of Pant, who soldiered on as a pure batter.
Now, the team management is considering playing Pant purely as a batter and have the reliable Jurel as keeper lower down the order.
All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has also reportedly picked up an injury during training, further limiting their options.
In that scenario, Karun Nair is likely to retain his spot despite limited returns in the series.
One player who continues to be overlooked despite his brilliant record is wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. India have been reluctant to pick five proper bowlers in order to lengthen their batting order, a plan that almost worked at Lord's.
There will be other factors to be considered as well. Rain has been forecast for the entire week in Manchester, with the likelihood of a full Test deemed to be very low.
India could thus choose to play it safe in the fourth Test, considering the weather, and make the most out of the Oval Test.
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