Big news: Shubman Gill confirms star pacer to be ruled out of Manchester Test due to injury

In a major blow for India, star pacer Akash Deep has been ruled out of the fourth Test against England. This comes after the seamer had picked up a groin niggle which he picked up during the third Test at Lord's. With this, Akash Deep has now become the third Indian player to get ruled out of the fourth Test after Arshdeep Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

India captain Shubman Gill confirmed about Akash Deep's injury during the pre-match press-conference held on Tuesday. In his place, either Anshul Kamboj or Prasidh Krishna are expected to be given a chance in the playing XI. The former was recently added to India's squad following the injury to Arshdeep.

Kamboj may make his debut in Manchester Test

Gill gave a major update about Kamboj during the press-conference and stated that the young pacer is quite close to making his debut, but added that the team management will be the ones taking the final call.

“Akash Deep is unavailable, so is Arshdeep, but we have good players in the team to pick up twenty wickets. It is not ideal to have different bowlers, but I was prepared,” Gill told reporters.

“He is very close to making his debut. We will see between Prasidh and Anshul tomorrow,” he added.

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Kamboj came into the limelight with his stint for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025. The pacer took 8 scalps in as many matches in the tournament and with impressive numbers at the domestic circuit also backing him, the 23-year-old was given a place in the India A squad for the two-match Test series against England Lions in June.

Kamboj featured in both of the matches, picking up a total of five scalps. With both Arshdeep and Akash Deep injured, there is a big chance that the young seamer will get selected in India's playing XI for Manchester Test over Krishna, who proved to be quite disappointing with the ball in both the first and second match of the ongoing series against England.

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Additionally, Gill also confirmed that Rishabh Pant will be keeping the wickets for the Men in Blue in the fourth Test. The 27-year-old had ended up injuring his left index finger during the Lord's Test which had led to him getting taken off the field. In his place, Dhruv Jurel kept the wickets and did a fairly good job, however he won't be seen in action in the upcoming match.