The debut of Anshul Kamboj can wait, as former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar gave head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill an ultimatum about picking Prasidh Krishna instead.
India is forced to make a change in their pace attack despite the availability of Jasprit Bumrah, as Akash Deep, who picked up 10 wickets in India’s win in Edgbaston, has been ruled out of the fourth Test with a groin injury. Rookie fast bowler Anshul Kamboj was flown in as a replacement for the fourth Test in Manchester, and if reports are to be believed, then the right-arm pacer is set to make his debut on Wednesday.
“Anshul…he is very close to making his debut, we are going to see it tomorrow, between him and Prasidh, who is going to make it to the 11,” said India captain Shubman Gill on the eve of the fourth Test.
Gill believes that Kamboj is a match-winner just like the injured Akash, who took 10 wickets in the second Test at Birmingham. “The communication is simple with Anshul, we have seen him enough, the kind of skill set that he brings to the table, is exactly what we want in this team, and he is there because we believe that he can win us the match.”
Bangar, however, tilted towards Prasidh Krishna. The former India all-rounder said if India don’t pick Prasidh in Old Trafford, where the ball tends to bounce and seam a lot more than The Oval, the venue for the last Test, then they would never learn the full potential of the Karnataka pacer.
“It is going to be a tough call for Shubman and Gautam Gambhir to pick between Prasidh and Anshul. That’s probably the reason they’ve delayed the decision right up to the start of the Test match. I believe Prasidh has done enough, and in the next Test match, you need a bowler who can extract bounce from that Manchester track. I feel Prasidh is slightly ahead of Anshul for this particular Test,” Bangar, a JioHotstar expert, said on ‘Follow The Blues’.
Prasidh Krishna leaked a lot of runs in the first two Tests that he played. While he bowled well in patches in the second innings of both the Tests, he lacked control.
“He challenges the batters in a different way – and let’s not forget, he has picked up important wickets as well. Yes, he has been expensive, but where there is pace, there is bounce – both in this Test match and the next. So it would be good if Prasidh plays back-to-back games. That will mean that, at the end of the series, there will be clarity on Prasidh Krishna – whether he can be a regular Test match bowler. But if you don’t play him now and wait till the Oval, you can never really make up your mind about where he stands in terms of the team’s plans. If he has the experience and has already been picked for a number of Test matches, it would suit the team’s direction better to let him play both games – so that the team can draw inferences at the end of the series,” Bangar said.