Team India's preparations for the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford in Manchester have been hit by injuries to some of their key players. The fourth Test of the series will be played from July 23 to July 27. The game will be a must-win one for Team India as they are 2-1 down, having lost the Lord's Test by 22 runs.Keeper-batter Rishabh Pant suffered an injury to his left index finger while keeping in the first innings of the Lord's Test. Fast bowlers Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh are the latest additions to the injury list. Both the cricketers are unlikely to be fit for the upcoming Test against England in Manchester.As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, left-arm pacer Arshdeep hurt his bowling hand in his follow through during a training session in Beckenham earlier this week. As for Akash Deep, the right-arm pacer is said to have picked up a groin niggle. In the wake of injuries to the two bowlers, Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj has been added to the squad as cover for the last two Tests of the series.At a press conference on Friday, July 18, Team India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate revealed details of the injury Arshdeep had suffered. He had said:“We'll take a call on the combination we play, particularly given the Arshdeep situation as well, we'll make that call closer to Manchester. He took a ball while he was bowling there, Sai hit a ball and he tried to stop it and it's just a cut, so we have to see how bad the cut is."Obviously, the medical team has taken him off to see a doctor and obviously if he needs stitches or doesn't need stitches that's going to be important to our planning for the next few day," the former Dutch cricketer had gone on to add.Arshdeep is yet to make his Test debut. However, many experts backed him to find a place in the playing XI in case Jasprit Bumrah was rested. The 26-year-old has the experience of 63 T20Is and nine ODIs in which he has claimed 99 and 14 wickets respectively. He was part of the Indian team that won the 2024 T20 World Cup held in the United States and West Indies.Shifting focus to Akash Deep, he was an unexpected hero for India with the ball in the second Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Despite India losing the first Test at Headingley in Leeds by five wickets, the visitors decided to rest Bumrah for the second Test and bring Akash Deep into the playing XI. The move was heavily criticized by experts and fans.Akash Deep exceeded all expectations in Birmingham as India registered a record win by 336 runs. The 28-year-old right-arm pacer picked up 10 wickets in the Test match. He claimed 4-88 from 20 overs in the first innings, proving to be the perfect foil for Mohammed Siraj (6-70). He then played the lead role in the second innings, registering career-best figures of 6-99 from 21.1 overs.There were high hopes from Akash Deep in the third Test at Lord's. However, he failed to make an impact at the iconic stadium, managing only one wicket. The fast bowler registered figures of 0-92 in the first innings and 1-30 in the second.Rishabh Pant to play as a pure batter in Manchester?With Pant suffering a finger injury in third Test at Lord's, there are chances that the Indian management might not risk him with the gloves at Old Trafford. The left-handed batter was clearly handicapped due to his injury in the previous Test match. Despite the long gap between the third and the fourth Test of the series, India might be serious about not handing the gloves to Pant.The visitors desperately need the destructive southpaw's services as a batter. Pant is the second-leading run-getter in the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He has smashed 425 runs in six innings at an average of 101.16, with two hundreds and two half-centuries. His run out in the first innings at Lord's, having scored 74, ended up being the turning point in the contest.If India indeed decide to play Pant as a pure batter in Manchester, Dhruv Jurel will come in as the keeper-batter. The axe could thus fall on Karun Nair, who has not managed a single fifty in six innings. India could also ponder giving Nair another chance and leaving out Nitish Reddy, who has been struggling with the willow.Considering the number of injury concerns in the Indian camp, coupled with form issues with some batters, the visitors are expected to make at least of couple of changes to their playing XI for Manchester. They would only be hoping that, like the punt with Akash Deep in Birmingham, the moves at Old Trafford also prove to be masterstrokes.