After Sai Sudharsan and Anshul Kamboj, India to hand another debut in ENG vs IND 2025 5th Test: Reports

Indian left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh is reportedly set to make his Test debut against England in the fifth Test at The Oval, starting on Thursday, July 31. A Times of India report said that the team management had plans to play the 26-year-old in the final two Tests of the ongoing series against England.

However, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) pacer sustained an injury on his bowling hand during practice ahead of the fourth Test at Old Trafford and needed stitches for the blow. That ruled him out of the match and Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj was drafted into the squad and handed a debut cap in Manchester.

The ongoing Test series in England is Arshdeep's maiden call-up to an Indian side in red-ball cricket. He has played nine ODIs and 63 T20Is for India and was part of the side which won the T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA in June 2024.

Arshdeep Singh's first-class career in numbers

Arshdeep Singh made his first-class debut against Vidarbha in Nagpur in December 2019. The left-arm seamer has taken 66 wickets in 21 first-class matches at an average of 30.37.

Arshdeep has two five-wicket hauls in first-class cricket, with best bowling figures of 6/40. His childhood coach Jaswant Rai said that the time was right for Arshdeep to play Test cricket for India.

"He has patiently done the hard yards, and I might sound biased, but he deserves the Test cap. If not in England, then where? "Wo pak chuka hai (He is ripe now). He should get a chance to play with the red ball. He can bring the balance that India has been looking for so long," Rai told TimesofIndia.com.

If Arshdeep does play the fifth and final Test at The Oval, he will become the first Indian left-arm seamer to play a Test in England since RP Singh, who played at the same venue in 2011.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee