Haryana-born pacer Anshul Kamboj made his Test debut days after his maiden call-up. He replaced an injured Nitish Kumar Reddy in the squad and an injured Akash Deep in the playing XI. However, Kamboj did not make a dream debut as he struggled against England batters who hit him around the park. Barring the wicket of opener Ben Duckett, Kamboj struggled on a flat wicket and his pace dropped considerably as well. A day after raising concerns after Kamboj's pace dropping to 115-125 kmph, his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) teammate Ravichandran Ashwin has come in his defense.
"It is important for us to rally behind our cricketers when they are not having a great time. Even if Anshul plays ten Tests and doesn't do great its okay. A boy from Haryana has put so much effort and worked hard to make it to India. It is still a success story. We should remember he has reached here. It is a success story. We have not reached there, so let us have a little bit of compassion towards them. We must back our players. Everyone will praise if he does well. When there is a bad day we need to get behind them. If he is not good enough he gets dropped its okay, that will happen. But he has put in the effort. Let's appreciate the effort," he said on his YouTube channel 'Ash ki Baat'.
Ashwin also praised young captain Shubman Gill. He feels that Gill is allowed to have bad days considering his inexperience as Test captain. He praised his phenomenal numbers as batter on the tour.
"Almost in every game we are in a position to win, in this game also we are fighting to draw. Shubman Gill should be proud of himself. A youngster leading for the first time away from home is allowed to have bad days, he will learn from this. But he has kept this aside, come out and batted like a champion," the former India spin-bowling all-rounder said.
Ashwin also lauded Gill and KL Rahul for helping India recover from two early blows. He feels that India have a chance to draw the game.
"Hats off to the way Rahul and Gill batted. If India goes on to draw this game, it is bigger than a win. Because you are way behind in the game. But after this if you can draw the game, it is a phenomenal achievement. In this Test, England has won more sessions than India, but there is a chance India could draw it and win the match that way. There is a huge chance they will be absolutely happy and all about thinking about the fifth Test," the 38-year-old said.