Pacer Akash Deep missed the fourth Test against England, owing to a groin injury. He has been sensational for India in England, picking up 11 wickets in two matches and was the third-leading wicket-taker of the series. However, the injury ruled him out of the Manchester Test, with debutant Anshul Kamboj replacing him in the playing XI.
Apart from Akash, India made two other changes to the playing XI. All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the series, owing to a knee injury, and that opened the door for Shardul Thakur, who featured in the first Test at Headingley. On the other hand, Karun Nair has been dropped. Ahead of the match, captain Shubman Gill backed the veteran but ended up dropping him for Sai Sudharsan.
England opt to field
England won the toss and elected to bowl first in Manchester. During the presentation, Gill noted that it was a good toss to lose, as he was unsure about what to do in the middle. The 25-year-old noted that India are trailing 2-1 in the series because the visitors lost on some crunch moments, but he backed the team to turn around after a small break.
“I was actually confused. Good toss to lose. The way we've played in the last three Tests has been outstanding. Some crunch moments we've lost, but we've won more sessions than them. You need a bit of a break. All three Tests were intense. Looks like a good surface. Nice and hard. There's some forecast around for the four-five days. Three changes: Sai Sudharsan comes in place of Karun. Kamboj and Shardul are in as well for Akash Deep and Reddy who are injured,” Gill said during the toss presentation.
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Anshul Kamboj
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer