Sanjay Manjrekar, a former Indian cricketer and commentator, doesn’t believe Nitish Kumar Reddy’s absence will hurt the Indian team much in the fourth Test against England. The match starts on Wednesday, July 23, at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Nitish did well in the third Test, scoring 43 runs and taking three wickets, but he’s out for the rest of the series due to a knee injury. Manjrekar is sure India can cope without him and thinks the injury might even let them improve the batting lineup.
Manjrekar mentioned on ESPN Cricinfo that he doesn’t think it will cause much disruption, or suddenly make the Indian team weak, just because Nitish Kumar Reddy helped as a bowler in the last match and Akash Deep wasn’t at his best. He doesn’t think Nitish not being there will cause much disruption.
He pointed out that India struggled with batting during the Lord’s Test, especially in the second innings where they didn’t reach the target. This is why he thinks they should rethink the team’s setup.
Manjrekar suggested that India should replace him with a batter because they have seen collapses in the previous game, and they were a little short of batting in that chase.
India is dealing with several injuries and will also be without fast bowlers Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh for the Manchester Test. With both of them out, the team needs to consider new players. Anshul Kamboj, an uncapped pacer who was recently added to the squad, might make his Test debut.
Manjrekar supports giving the 24-year-old a chance. Anshul performed well in domestic cricket, taking 34 wickets in just six matches in the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy, with an average of 13.79. He has a total of 79 wickets from 24 first-class games, averaging 22.88.
Another choice would be Prasidh Krishna, who played in the first two Tests. Manjrekar is careful about bringing back a bowler who was recently dropped because he wasn’t in good form.
He said that the conditions at Old Trafford might be cloudy. Then you need bowlers who keep things simple. Prasidh Krishna might be a better fit if the pitch has bounce and he is a bit more experienced. But if he was dropped from the team because of his form, then it doesn’t make sense to bring him back when he’s still in the same form.
Instead, the commentator is backing Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Anshul Kamboj to lead India’s bowling attack in conditions that might offer some movement.
As India tries to recover in the important fourth Test, Manjrekar’s thoughts show the strategic adjustments needed because of the increasing number of injuries.