England vs India, Manchester, 4th Test: While many would believe that India should have been leading the five-match series 3-0 against England, the reality is we are down 2-1, and staring at a possibility of conceding an unassailable lead at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester, the venue for the fourth Test match starting Wednesday, July 23, 2025. India held the upper hand in the first Test for the first four days of the game, yet ended up losing it convincingly on the final day. The second Test match saw the visitors come back strongly at Edgbaston to level the series, but once again lost the plot at Lord's in the third Test despite winning more sessions than England. It was deja vu with scars.

Injury Woes Leave India in a Spot Of Bother

Akash Deep is likely to sit out of the fourth Test due to a groin niggle, and Nitish Kumar Reddy has already been ruled out from the remainder of the series. India can't fall back on Arshdeep Singh, who appeared to have done some serious damage to his fingers while attempting to stop a ball at the nets, and is no longer available for selection for the upcoming Test. Among all of this, the only good news for India is that wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant is expected to be fit to take the gloves in Manchester.

The kind of surfaces India had to encounter in the series, the think tank might be seriously looking at getting Kuldeep Yadav into the mix, but Anshul Kamboj, who has been called up as a replacement for Arshdeep Singh, will fancy his chances of making his Test debut, especially with cloudy skies and rain looming throughout the Test, conditions could get tricky.

Just like Edgbaston, Manchester has not been a happy hunting ground for India. Having played nine Test matches here, the visitors have lost four and drawn five. A stat that would keep England in good stead, but not enough to drop their guard. After all, Edgbaston wasn't any different, and India outplayed them without their best fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, to come roaring back in the series. Karun Nair might get one more opportunity to keep his place in the side with the possibility of Sai Sudharsan or Shardul Thakur replacing Reddy in the team. Thakur would be almost a like-for-like replacement for India, and may help to ensure balance in the bowling attack. It will perhaps be a toss-up between Kuldeep and Kamboj in place of Akash Deep - a choice that might just go on to be series-defining.

India Playing XI vs England, 4th Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudharsan/Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav/Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

England Playing XI vs India, 4th Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer