Former KKR spinner picks India’s playing 11 for ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test; retains Karun Nair and makes 2 changes

Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner Brad Hogg suggested India make two changes to their playing 11 for the fourth Test against England. The game is set to start on Wednesday, July 23, at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Hogg batted for Karun Nair to retain his spot at number three, saying India must not tinker with the top four in their batting order. Nair has managed only 131 runs from six innings without a half-century thus far.

With Nitish Kumar Reddy ruled out for the remainder of the series, the former Australian cricketer believes the visitors should bring Shardul Thakur in as a like-for-like replacement.

Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh have also been ruled out of the fourth Test. Hogg feels Anshul Kamboj, who was added to the squad, must play ahead of Prasidh Krishna. Notably, Prasidh was dropped after the first two Tests due to his poor form.

"I don't think Nair should be dropped. You've got to keep him at three. That top four, you've got to keep it the same. I'm only worried about Jaiswal against Archer. Washington Sundar and Jadeja continue to do their job with both bat and ball. If you have Shardul coming in at eight, then you've got that depth. You've got to understand whether Prasidh Krishna is confident coming into this game or not. If he's not in the best spot, that's where you go with Kamboj," he said on his YouTube channel.

"We've got Jaiswal, Rahul opening the batting. Nair at three. Gill at four, Pant at five. I think Thakur would be in that eleven. Jadeja at six, Washington at seven and Thakur at eight. Kamboj has the potential to bat. If he can bat at number nine, then you've got Siraj and Bumrah," he added.

Brad Hogg's India playing 11 for fourth Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.

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Can India break the Manchester jinx?

India are currently 1-2 down in the five-Test series, making the fourth match a must-win for them. Post the close, heartbreaking 22-run loss at Lord's, they will be keen to draw level at Manchester.

However, their record at Old Trafford in Tests so far has been poor. They have failed to win a single game in nine outings, losing four and drawing five. The last time India played a Test in Manchester was in 2014, where they suffered a defeat by an innings and 54 runs.

Notably, they had not won a Test at Edgbaston as well before the series. However, the visitors went on to win at the venue by a massive margin of 336 runs. India will thus be keen to break the Manchester jinx too, and repeat their performance from Edgbaston.