As India gears up for the fourth Test match against England at Old Trafford, Manchester, former cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has raised concerns over team management’s unclear communication, especially regarding injury updates and selection decisions. The focus of Chopra’s criticism is new head coach Gautam Gambhir, who he believes has left fans and analysts in the dark.
Injuries Continue to Haunt Team India on England Tour
India’s squad has been hit hard by injuries since their third Test loss. Arshdeep Singh sustained an injury during a practice session, while Akash Deep suffered a back strain during the Lord’s Test. The BCCI has confirmed that all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is out of the remainder of the series with a knee injury and has returned home for treatment.
In response, Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj has been named as a replacement in the Indian squad for the upcoming Test. However, Chopra questioned the process behind this decision, especially with Harshit Rana not retained despite earlier being picked.
“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑨𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒍 𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒋. 𝑯𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝑨, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆, 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝑨𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌,” 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝑻𝒖𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍.
Chopra Demands Clarity from Team Management
Aakash Chopra further expressed frustration over the inconsistency in selections, particularly the absence of transparency from the team’s decision-makers.
“𝑵𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
He emphasized that if the selection was based on India A performances, then Kamboj’s inclusion makes sense—but questioned why Harshit Rana was not retained if consistency was valued earlier.
As the crucial fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series begins on Wednesday, July 23, fans will be eager to see if Anshul Kamboj makes his debut in Manchester—and whether the team management starts offering more transparency moving forward.
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