- By Namrata Vijay
- Sat, 19 Jul 2025 11:02 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs ENG 4th Test: India's star fast bowler Arshdeep Singh is all set to be ruled out of the fourth Test against England, which will be held at Old Trafford next week. As per the Indian Express, the pacer had sustained a cut on his bowling hand in a practice session earlier this week as he was trying to stop a ball during his own over.
The physios were seen giving him a treatment, and due to the injury, he might be warming the bench for some more time.
“He has stitches on his hand and is likely won’t be available for the fourth Test match, the Indian team will see if he is ready for the fifth Test or not," a source was quoted as saying to the Indian Express.
Ryan Ten Doeschate, who is the assistant coach of the Indian team, had revealed, “Arshdeep took a ball while he was bowling there, Sai hit a ball, and he tried to stop it, and it’s just a cut. So we have to see how bad the cut is. The medical team has taken him off to see a doctor, and, if he needs stitches or doesn’t need stitches, it’s going to be important to our planning for the next few days."
According to the report, there are high chances that Akash Deep might also be ruled out of the upcoming Test owing to a groin strain. He also didn't attend the team's practice session before they left for Manchester.
Injury concerns deepen
The Shubman Gill-led side is trailing the five-match Test series by 2-1, and this might be the worst time for the players to get injured. Even though Arshdeep hasn't made his Test debut yet, he was a strong contender to replace Jasprit Bumrah during the upcoming Test.
At the same time, if Akash Deep too is ruled out, then the team management will again have to rely on Prasidh Krishna, who was inconsistent during the first two Test matches, where he took six wickets in four innings. Kuldeep Yadav is another bowler, but he isn't a part of head coach Gautam Gambhir's plans for now.
The visitors are also mulling over Rishabh Pant's fitness. The star wicketkeeper batter had sustained a finger injury during the third Test match at Lord's.
Ten Doeschate revealed that Pant would be playing as a specialist batter if he is not keeping the wickets, but that would mean that the management would again pick Dhruv Jurel, and that would mean dropping a specialist batter.