"Close to making his debut....": Skipper Gill on pacer Kamboj ahead of 4th Test

Manchester [UK], July 22 : Ahead of England's fourth Test at Manchester, Indian skipper Shubman Gill hinted that pacer Anshul Kamboj is "close to making his debut" and it could be a toss-up between him and Prasidh Krishna for the spot.
With the series 2-1 in favour of England heading into Manchester, Team India would be aiming to deliver an incredible all-round performance to level the scoreline. With the injured all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy set to miss out on the remainder of the series and left-armer Arshdeep Singh set to miss the fourth Test due to injury, it has opened a gateway for Kamboj, a 24-year-old right-handed seam bowler from Haryana.
Speaking of Kamboj, who impressed during India's A's tour to England before the series, Gill said that the team has seen enough of him and the communication with him has been kept simple.
"The communication is simple. We have seen him enough. I think the kind of skill set that he brings to the table is exactly what we want in this team. And he is there because we believe that he can win us the match," said the captain.
"Even in the second test match, when Akash Deep was brought in, a lot of people had questions, you know, why he's been brought in. But it's mainly the belief that we have within our squad that any player who comes into the team can or can win matches for us," he added.
Gill also said that Akash Deep is unavailable for the fourth Test.
Kamboj is known for his ability to stick to traditional lengths and hit the deck hard, generating movement. He was part of the India A squad before for the two unofficial Tests against England Lions and impressed in the second, taking four wickets, including two in a single over. Not just with the ball, Kamboj exuded grit with the bat, stitching an unbeaten 149-run stand with Tanush Kotian in the same contest and scoring a half-century himself.
In the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season, he scalped 34 wickets in six matches and finished as the leading wicket-taker in the 2024-25 Duleep Trophy. He created history by becoming only the third Indian to take all ten wickets in an innings against Kerala. In First-Class cricket, Kamboj boasts 79 wickets in 24 matches at an average of 22.88 while maintaining a strike rate of 44.2 and an economy of 3.10.
Gill said that while it is not ideal to feature a different bowling attack in every match, he was prepared for this scenario before the series and had planned accordingly.
"And secondly, yes, Anshul, he is very close to making his debut. We are going to see tomorrow, between him and Prasidh, who is going to make it to the playing XI," he added.
So far in the series, Prasidh has been a mixed bag, taking six wickets at an average of 55.16, with best figures of 3/128, having bowled some expensive spells so far, despite some flashes of brilliance.