Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has thrown his weight behind young pacer Anshul Kamboj, urging critics not to judge him based on a single performance. Kamboj had a forgettable debut in the fourth Test against England in Manchester, but Ganguly believes the 24-year-old deserves a longer rope. “Don’t judge Anshul on one Test. He is a young kid, and he has picked wickets in domestic cricket. Give him five to eight Tests before passing a judgment on him on how good he is,” Ganguly said during a press conference on Thursday, as quoted by ANI. Kamboj was drafted into the squad midway through the series after India’s injury crisis deepened. Akash Deep was dealing with a groin niggle, Arshdeep Singh took a hit on his hand, and Nitish Kumar Reddy had already been ruled out. Just days after flying in, Kamboj was thrown into the playing XI and handed the new ball ahead of Mohammed Siraj.
However, the Haryana pacer struggled to find rhythm. He frequently missed his lines and lengths, allowing England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett to dominate. He eventually picked up his maiden Test wicket by dismissing Duckett for 94, finishing with figures of 1/89. Providing further context, Ganguly expressed surprise at the exclusion of Mukesh Kumar from the England tour, especially given his impressive red-ball record. “I was surprised not to see Mukesh Kumar in the squad. His red-ball numbers in domestic cricket are phenomenal. These conditions would have been suitable for him. Hopefully, in future, he will get his chance,” he said.
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Mukesh was part of the India A side that played the England Lions before the series, taking three wickets in his only outing. Overall, the Bengal seamer has 252 wickets from 52 first-class matches at an average of 21.55 — numbers Ganguly believed should not be overlooked.
