Nitish Kumar Reddy is out for the remainder of the England Tests due to a gym-related injury. Here’s how India can rejig their side in his absence.
According to reports, Reddy suffered ligament damage on his left knee, forcing him out of the Old Traffordand Oval Tests. With Arshdeep Singh (and potentially Akash Deep) dealing with injuries too, India have brought in Anshul Kamboj as a replacement.
Reddy’s contribution so far
He missed the first Test with Shardul Thakur slotted in at No.8 as a fast-bowling all-rounder, but replaced him for the next two Tests. He batted at No.6 and No.7 in Birmingham, managing 1(6) and 1(2), while at Lord’s, he hit 30 (91) from seven, and 13 (53) at nine. With the ball, he had limited contribution in Birmingham, sending down just six overs, but bowled 23 overs across the Lord’s Test – the most he has in his career so far – getting movement in the air and dismissing Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett in a crucial first-innings spell.
India’s pace combination for Manchester
Reddy was the fourth seamer in the Lord’s Test, but the situation is slightly complicated for India going forward. With Akash Deep and Arshdeep both out of contention, India will have to replace at least two seamers for the next Test. And that is discounting Jasprit Bumrah, who is supposed to play only one of the remaining two Tests, and it’s likely to be Manchester.
India could straight swap Nitish with Shardul to retain some batting cover, although Reddy is known to be a more skilled batter than Shardul. If required, Shardul can be even expected to bowl longer spells, although his role in the first Test was limited to 16 overs overall.
Another option is Kamboj, who can also provide early swing and bowl defensive, accurate spells. And, without overstating his batting, he can also provide some late-order runs. In their tour game against England Lions, he hit 51 off 86 from No.9.
With Akash also potentially unavailable, India could bring back Prasidh Krishna as their third seamer. He took six wickets across the first two Tests, but was also erratic, struggling to control his lines and conceding runs at 5.33 per over.
The Pant dilemma
There might have been a possibility that Reddy didn’t play the fourth Test altogether, even if fit. With Rishabh Pant still recovering from his finger injury, there are still doubts over his wicketkeeping fitness, which would have meant India bringing in Dhruv Jurelas the designated keeper. It would offset the batting imbalance in Reddy’s absence, but also leave India short of one pace option.
If India do not want to use up a place for Jurel, KL Rahul is also a wicketkeeping backup.
Is it a lifeline for Karun?
Without the NKR injury, Jurel could have potentially replaced Karun, who is yet to cross 40 in the series, at three. Now, if Jurel plays, it could be lower down the order, where NKR’s absence would be felt.
It could be another lifeline for Karun, although he might still be replaced at three, if India decide to give Sai Sudharsan a chance again.
The Kuldeep question
NKR’s unavailability also brings back the perennial question: does Kuldeep Yadav play?
India haven’t been able to find a place for him so far, even though there’s been considerable noise around his non-selection. However, with Jadeja and Sundar already in the mix, it puts the focus further away from Kuldeep, as India look to bolster their pace attack now.
In summary, India can replace Reddy directly with Thakur, their best like-for-like option. If Kamboj comes in for Akash Deep instead of Prasidh, it would also lend some more batting cushion. And, if India feel that a combination of three quicks + two spinners will suffice, they could even bring in Jurel, whose selection is also linked to Pant’s recovery.
This debate will re-open ahead of the Oval Test, where Bumrah is likely to sit out.
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