The Indian camp is sweating over fitness concerns ahead of the upcoming Manchester Test against England, beginning Wednesday, July 23. Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh are unlikely to be fit in time for the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, while Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the series due to a knee injury. Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj has been added to the visitors' squad as a cover, and looking at how things are proceeding, the young seamer is in line to make his debut in Manchester.
However, former India opening batter Aakash Chopra has now raised questions over Kamboj's inclusion in the squad, saying “there is no clarity” whatsoever regarding the Indian team management.
Earlier, before the series against England got underway, the team management asked Harshit Rana to stay back in England as a backup. At that time, many felt Anshul Kamboj was the ideal choice because of his performances in the India A series against England Lions.
Rana was then sent back after the conclusion of the first Test, which England won by five wickets. Now that injuries have surfaced, Harshit Rana is nowhere in the mix as the management have opted to go in with Anshul Kamboj.
Chopra feels that since Harshit Rana was selected earlier, he should have been picked now as well for continuity.
“It's very interesting. There was a lot of chatter about Anshul Kamboj. He did well for India A as well, but when there was an opportunity earlier, the team management chose Harshit Rana first. Anshul was sent back home, and now we are learning about his name again,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Harshit Rana is not there. Now you have to wonder, what actually goes on? How do you determine who to keep and who to let go of? If you talk about performances for India A, Anshul's performance was better, but you kept Harshit Rana looking at continuity,” he added.
‘No clarity whatsoever’
The former India opening batter also questioned Gautam Gambhir and the rest of the support staff, asking whether there's any “clarity” regarding the selection of players for the squad.
“If that was the case, then you should have kept Harshit Rana now as well. But he is not there; Anshul Kamboj is there. No clarity whatsoever,” said Chopra.
“Maybe the management knows, but nobody is telling us anything. This comes as no surprise. Anshul Kamboj was deserving; he is now with the team,” he added.
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is currently led by England as they are 2-1 ahead. Both teams will now square off in the fourth Test with everything to play for.