Jasprit Bumrah will participate in the fourth Test; Rishabh Pant is expected to stay as well.

India's team selection after their injury issue is starting to take shape, as it has been confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah will play in the fourth Test match against England at Old Trafford.

When asked about India's pace attack, which appeared likely to be disrupted by the injuries to Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj stated in Manchester on Monday, "As of right now, we only know that Jassi [Bumrah] bhai will play."

In addition to Bumrah's availability, India had other positive news two days prior to the Test: Rishabh Pant, who had sustained a finger injury at Lord's, recovered from a two-hour training session. Akash Deep's groin ache is still bothering India, and they will give him some time to heal.

Specialist batsman Sai Sudharsan is expected to make a comeback to the starting lineup as all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who played the second and third Test matches and made an impression at Lord's as the fourth seamer, is now sidelined for the series due to injury. Despite having scored 0 and 30 in the first Test match at Headingley, Sudharsan was benched for offspinning all-rounder Washington Sundar in Edgbaston and Lord's.

If the situation calls for a fourth seamer rather than a second spinner, India may substitute Shardul Thakur for Washington if Sudharsan returns.

The biggest concern is still Akash Deep's level of fitness. During Monday's training session, he only bowled into bowling instructor Morne Morkel's mitt. Over the following two days, he will be observed by the medical team and decision-makers to see whether he is well enough to play the entire length of a Test match. Should Bumrah play at Old Trafford but miss the fifth Test at The Oval, which begins three days after the conclusion of the fourth Test, there may be pressure to rest him.

While Bumrah had intended to participate in three Test matches during this five-match series owing to workload management, the Manchester weather may ease some of the pressure on him. According to the current forecast, Old Trafford will see light rains on the first two days and the fifth day. A fourth Test match could be played by Bumrah if the series is still going strong at The Oval.

If Akash is unable to play at Old Trafford, Anshul Kamboj, who was brought in as cover, or Prasidh Krishna, who participated in the first two Test matches, will be the third fast bowler.

The squad asked Prasidh to bowl periods of prolonged short-pitched bowling in the first two Test matches, which resulted in him taking two wickets at Headingley but going for runs at Edgbaston. His average of 55.16 and economy of 5.33 in the series may indicate a lack of control.

It won't be as urgent a pick as it seems if Kamboj, 24, is given his Test cap. Because of his reputation for extracting more seam movement than most, he has been on the selectors' radar and could be a suitable substitute for Akash Deep. Since 2022, Kamboj has taken 79 first-class wickets at an average of 22.88. MS Dhoni of the Chennai Super Kings, who praised his seam movement during this year's IPL, has given him his blessing.

It is still unknown who India's third seamer is, but it was more certain that Pant had hurt his left index finger while taking wickets in the first innings at Lord's. He batted in both innings but did not keep for the remainder of the Test. Although they were certain there was no fracture, India didn't want to take the chance of making it worse.

Pant batted easily in the nets on Monday and practiced wicket-keeping. The only question around Pant was whether he would be able to acquire a replacement wicketkeeper at Old Trafford if he aggravated the same injury during play, unlike at Lord's. In the fourth Test, Pant was anticipated to play as a specialist batter, while Dhruv Jurel was vying for a slot. However, his performance at the Nets on Monday should calm such concerns. After losing the first Test match at Headingley and the third at Lord's, India is now behind 2-1 in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

India squad for fourth Test:

Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), and Washington Sundar.