India’s chances are diminished without Nitish Reddy in the fourth Test against England:

Delhi: Former Indian cricketer and well-known commentator Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the absence of young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy in the fourth Test against England will not affect the Indian team much. The match will be played on Wednesday, 23 July at the Old Trafford ground in Manchester.

In the third Test, Nitish scored 43 runs and also had 3 wickets, but now he is out of the series due to knee injury. However, Manjrekar believes that Team India can handle his deficiency and this opportunity can be used to further strengthen the team’s batting.

‘Team will not be weak’

In a conversation with ESPN Cricinfo, Manjrekar said, “I don’t think this will weaken Team India. Nitish helped in bowling in the last match, but the performance of Akash Deep was not special at that time. In such a situation, his absence will not bring any big imbalance.”

Lessons should be learned from the defeat of Lord’s Test

Manjrekar, recommending India’s batting failure in the second inning of Lord’s Test, advised to think again on the combination of the team. He said that India should now give a chance to a specialist batsman instead of an all -rounder.

“We saw in the last match that our batting during the run chase was a bit weak. So this is a good chance to include an additional batsman,” Manjrekar said.

‘It would not be wise to bring back the famous’

India is currently struggling with the injuries of many players. Fast bowlers Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh have also been eliminated from the Manchester Test. In such a situation, the selectors have limited options left. Uncapricated fast bowler Anshul Kamboj, recently included in the team, may get a chance to debut.

Anshul took 34 wickets in just six matches, performing brilliantly in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy. His average was 13.79. He has taken 79 wickets in 24 first class matches so far.

Manjrekar believes that Anshul should be given a chance. At the same time, he raised doubts about bringing the famous Krishna back to the playing XI.

Anshul gets opportunity in fast bowling attack

“If there is a boom on the pitch and the weather is Badli, then it can be famous because they have little experience. But if they were out of the form, it would not be prudent to bring them back in the same form again,” Manjrekar said.

He described Jaspreet Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj and Anshul Kamboj as the right combination of India’s fast bowling.

India will have to take a decision wisely

As the fourth Test is approaching, Team India is going through many strategic decisions regarding injuries and selection of players. Manjrekar’s opinion shows that the team will have to keep a balance in batting and bowling while maintaining balance.

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