England Cricket Team vs India National Cricket Team: India captain Shubman Gill on Tuesday confirmed that Rishabh Pant will take up wicketkeeping duties in the fourth Test against England. Pant had injured his finger during the third Test at Lord's and was limited to just 35 overs behind the stumps. Dhruv Jurel kept wickets for the remainder of the match but conceded 25 byes in England’s second innings. England went on to win the third Test by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. “Rishabh Pant will keep wickets in the fourth Test against England in Manchester,” Gill said during the pre-match press conference.
The news comes as a relief to India who are grappling with multiple injuries in the squad. All-rounder Nitish Reddy has been ruled out of the remaining matches in the series. Akash Deep, who was seen struggling with a hip issue at Lord’s, will also miss the Old Trafford Test. Arshdeep Singh is also recovering from injury.
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To strengthen the bowling unit, pacer Anshul Kamboj has been added to the squad. Gill praised the Haryana bowler and said he is close to making his debut. “We have seen his skill set. We have the belief that he can win matches for us. Kamboj is close to making his debut tomorrow. You are going to see whether it is him or Prasidh Krishna,” Gill said.
Despite the injury setbacks, Gill expressed confidence in the team’s depth. “It is never easy when there are injuries. Nitish is missing and Akash is also unavailable. But we have good enough players to take 20 wickets,” he said.
Gill also defended Karun Nair, who has yet to score big in the series. Nair has scored 0 20 31 26 40 and 14 runs in the first three Tests so far. "We think he is batting well. First match he didn't play at his number. No issues with his batting. Once you are able to get to 50 and get in the zone. We are hopeful that he can turn it aroun," Gill said.
The fourth Test will begin at Old Trafford in Manchester on Wednesday. India currently leads the five-match series 2–1.
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