Anshul Kamboj is likely to earn a debut Indian cap in the fourth Test against England, which is set to start to begin on Wednesday (July 23) in Manchester at the Old Trafford Cricket Stadium in what is a do-or-die for the Shubman Gill-led side as they are 2-1 down in the five-match series.

Kamboj was not part of the original squad but was called up to England after the third Test after Arshdeep Singh injured himself in training and was ruled out of the fourth Test. Meanwhile, Akash Deep, the star of India's victory in Edgbaston with a 10-wicket haul, is also a major doubt for the Manchester Test.

With the injury crisis in the pace department, Kamboj is set for a debut in Manchester as he is fighting with Prasidh Krishna for the third pacer's spot to partner Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Krishna's sub-par display in the first two sets could see the management hand a debut cap. If it happens, the right-arm pacer will become India's Test cap 318.

Kamboj, a 24-year-old pacer, has impressed across formats for the last one year and risen up the ranks of Indian cricket. It was during the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) when he made his debut for Mumbai Indians (MI) after being purchase for Rs. 20 Lakhs in the auction.

It was during the Duleep Trophy that he got the world talking about him as he finished as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 16 wickets in three matches at an average of 17.12. His bowling figures of 8/69 in India C vs India B in Anantapur were the fifth best in the tournament's history (second best by a pacer).

Later, he went one better in the Ranji Trophy with a 10-wicket haul for Haryana against Kerala at Lahli. He was only the third player in the history of India's premier first-class competition to take 10 wickets in an innings .

Kamboj earned a call-up to the Indian-A team for the tour of England last month and impressed with five wickets in two matches against England Lions.

Overall, he has played in 24 first-class matches and taken 79 wickets at an average of 22.8. The 24-year-old is also a handy batter and made a half-century in the second unofficial Test against the Lions.

At the 2025 IPL Mega Auction, Kamboj was signed by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a whopping 3.2 crore after a bidding war with his former side MI. This allowed the pacer to play under MS Dhoni after his return as captain mid-way through the season.

Kamboj played eight games for CSK and took eight wickets at an economy of 8.00.

Dhoni was all praise for him during the season and revealed that he stood out for being quicker than he looked like.

“Kamboj is someone who doesn’t get swing, but he gets some seam movement, the ball hits you harder than the speed gun suggests, he has taken the responsibility and he is someone who can bowl good yorkers,” said Dhoni in a post-match interview.