 "Akash Deep likely to make India debut in fourth Test against England in Ranchi: Report")
With Jasprit Bumrah rested for the fourth Test against England in Ranchi that gets underway on Friday, Bengal pacer Akash Deep is likely to make his Test debut for India.
Bihar-born Bengal seamer Akash had been included in India's squad for the last three Tests, earning a maiden national call-up in the process, after senior pacer Mohammed Shami had failed to recover from the ankle injury that has kept him out of action since last year’s ICC World Cup.
Read | Who is Akash Deep, the pacer included in India’s squad for last three England Tests
With Bumrah having been withdrawn from the squad for the fourth Test that takes place at former India captain MS Dhoni’s hometown, Akash is likely to get the nod from the team management ahead of fellow Bihar-born Bengal seamer Mukesh Kumar, according to The Indian Express.
The 27-year-old, who plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, has 104 First-Class wickets from 30 appearance since making his debut for Bengal in 2019. More recently, Akash had collected 11 wickets in two red-ball fixtures for India A against the England Lions in Ahmedabad at an average of 18.72. That included two four-fers that will have played a major role in helping him land a place in the India squad.
Read | How Akash Deep went from aimless cricket in Bihar to maiden India call-up
Mohammed Siraj, who has featured in the first and third Tests at Hyderabad and Rajkot respectively so far in the series, will lead the attack in Bumrah’s absence. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav likely to continue as the third spinner alongside Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja after his impressive display at Rajkot, where he helped trigger an English batting collapse on Day 3 in Ashwin’s absence and also contributed with a 91-ball 27 as a nightwatchman.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIndia are currently leading the five-Test series for the Anthony D’Mello Trophy 2-1 after registering commanding victories in Visakhapatnam and Rajkot. They had suffered a stunning 28-run defeat in Hyderabad despite collecting a 190-run first innings lead, but would bounce back in style in Vizag with a 106-run victory. The Rohit Sharma-led hosts were even more ruthless at Rajkot’s Niranjan Shah Stadium, where they walked away with a 434-run victory — their biggest in Test cricket in terms of runs.
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