Not Karun Nair! Ex-India Batter Wants GT Star To Bat At No. 3 In 4th Test

News18

20-07-2025

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar suggested that Sai Sudharsan should have been given more opportunities to play at number 3 in the Indian batting order, especially considering the favourable conditions of flat pitches and a weak English bowling attack.
He expressed disagreement with the team management's decision to go with Karun Nair at number 3 after giving Sudharsan just one chance in the first of the five-Test series against England last month.
In a video posted by ESPNcricinfo on X, Manjrekar said, 'Sai Sudharsan was always my number 3 after the first Test match; there was promise shown with 30 runs. And when you have flat pitches and one of England's weakest bowling attacks, you want to play a young player. So Karun Nair at number 3 I didn't agree with. Maybe the team management might just want to prove a point that they were backing the right horse and give him one more match—that's something that happens with team management—but I would like to see Sai Sudharsan at number 3."
Sudharsan made his Test debut in the series opener against England, where he played at number 3 as Indian skipper Shubman Gill batted at number 4 after veteran batter Virat Kohli, who batted at that position for a decade, announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this year.
Sudharsan was dismissed for 0 in the first innings followed by a decent 30 runs in the second. He was dropped from the playing XI in the second fixture, and Karun Nair, who batted at number 6, was promoted to number 3.
Nair failed to perform in the ongoing England series, making only 131 runs in six innings at an average of 21.83 and a best score of 40.
India will clash against England in the fourth Test starting from July 23. The visitors are currently 1-2 down in the five-match series after losing the third Test at Lord's by 22 runs, despite a fighting effort by the tailenders and Ravindra Jadeja while chasing.