Anshul Kamboj debuts ! ~ some reference back to Chennai Test in 2016

Test no. 2596 got underway at Manchester Old Trafford today.  This Indian team was touted to be the most inexperienced team yet has performed well thus far – though the scoreline reads 1-2.  Will they comeback roaring in the 4^th Test is the Q ?? 

We happily remember that Chennai test in Dec 2016 when India beat England by an innings and 75 runs – two players in the present squad would reminisce it today with different feelings !!    

This morning India  made three changes, two of them forced, and handed a Test debut to Haryanvi  Anshul Kamboj. Test cap 318 to the Haryana and Chennai Super Kings seame in place of Akash Deep. Sai Sudharsan replaced Karun Nair at No. 3   while Shardul Thakur and Kamboj replaced the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy.  Back in 1990, Anil Kumble made his debut at Old Trafford.   Kamboj, 24, comes from Karnal in Haryana, a boxing heartland, and began playing cricket on open fields. In less than a decade, Kamboj progressed to play for his state team and also broke  into the IPL. The milestone of ten wickets in an innings is a great achievement for Kamboj in Ranji trophy.   

 

Captain Shubman Gill lost another toss calling ‘Heads’ !  - Gill said he was "a bit confused" as to whether he would have chosen to bat or bowl first, but was spared the decision as India lost their 14th consecutive toss across all men's internationals.  The batting has been good in this Series.  Openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal batted through the morning unscathed in Manchester to provide supporting evidence to Shubman Gill's belief that this was "a good toss to lose".  Rahul continued his impressive form, going past 400 runs in the series and becoming the fifth Indian batter to score 1,000 Test runs in England.  Yashaswi Jaiswal played an innings of character, not much of free stroking, playing within himself showing his responsibility, yet hit a six off Ben Stokes.    

The player of that Chepauk Test, Karun Nair who scored an unbeaten 303 then perhaps has played his last test innings already as he was dropped for this Manchester test – it was a phenomenal come back but the fairy tale did not prosper in England.  Now comes the news that  he  is set to return to Karnataka three seasons after his last appearance for the team.   Having been a central figure in Vidarbha's run to their third Ranji Trophy title earlier this year, Nair earned a recall to India's Test squad after more than eight years on the back of his 863 runs in 16 innings with four centuries at 53.93. This included a match-winning century in the final against Kerala. Nair also had a record-breaking run in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he captained Vidarbha to a runners-up finish. He made a chart-topping 779 runs in eight innings, with five consecutive hundreds, while striking at 124.01. During the tournament, he set a new List A record of scoring the most runs (542) without being dismissed.   

Another Cricketer returned after 8 year Test hiatus – Liam Dawson, had made his debut in that Chennai test, is back in the team today.    Liam Dawson, the Hampshire allrounder, returned for his first Test in eight years, replacing Shoaib Bashir who fractured the little finger on his left hand while attempting a return catch in the third Test.  Spin-bowling allrounder Liam Dawson turned the tide of a faltering county cricket career when he made his England T20 debut against Sri Lanka in 2016. An ODI debut against Pakistan also followed by the end of the summer, and the winter brought a Test debut in Chennai, where he made a dogged, unbeaten 66 batting at No. 8. A former England U-19 captain, Dawson made his maiden first-class century at 18, becoming the youngest player to score a hundred for Hampshire.  

 
Interesting !
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
23.7.2025