India vs England 2025 4th Test: Bad news for Karun Nair, 'invest in Sai Sudharsan', says star cricketer
Captain Shubman Gill and the Team India management have a lot to think about ahead of the fourth Test between India and England at Old Trafford in Manchester from July 23. A loss for the visitors will hand over the inaugural 'Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy' to Ben Stokes-led England side.
In spite of dominating most of the third Test at Lord's, Team India lost the match by 22 runs – failing to chase down 193 runs to win on the final day. For most fans and on-lookers, it was the shocking dismissal of No. 3 batter Karun Nair in the last session on fourth day which kicked off the Indian downfall.
Till Nair's dismissal, India were cruising at 40 for one wicket before the Delhi Capitals batter shouldered arm to a straight ball from Brydon Carse to be adjudged leg-before. Nair was once again dismissed for 14 after doing all the hard work and getting off to a start.
Apart from the first innings of first Test at Leeds when he was dismissed for a duck, Nair has got starts in every single innings but has failed to convert. Karun Nair has failed to convert his starts
In six innings, Nair has scores of 0, 20, 31, 26, 40 and 14. After three back-to-back Test, it seems that time is running out for Nair, who had made a comeback into the Indian Test side after more than 7 years.
In 9 Tests, Nair has only managed to score 505 runs and out of that 303 not out came in one innings against England in a Test match in Chennai. That triple ton was the only international century scored by Nair.
Former India wicketkeeper turned commentator Deep Dasgupta believes that Team India management should start investing in youth and give opportunity to Sai Sudharsan for the remaining two Test matches in the series.
JioHotstar expert Deep Dasgupta shared his thoughts on whether any changes might be made to India's Playing XI.
'In the Playing XI, you don't want more than one change. If there is only one, it would be replacing Karun Nair with Sai Sudharsan. Because Karun Nair hasn't made any runs. He's got starts, but hasn't converted them into big scores. I also believe he doesn't look that comfortable at the crease either,' Dasgupta said.
'And secondly, Sai Sudharsan is a young player. If you want to invest in this England series, you'd rather invest in a younger player. Karun Nair has got starts in both Test matches, but he hasn't looked that convincing. So if you're looking to build ahead, you might as well invest in someone like Sai Sudharsan. Because after this, I don't know when you'll come back to a series in England. So when you have two Tests left, invest in Sai Sudharsan,' he added. Need solidity at No 3: Deep Dasgupta
Former Bengal stumper Dasgupta expects stability from a No. 3 batter in a Test side. When Sudharsan played at Leeds, Nair had batted at number six.
'Technically, he plays from the crease, especially on pitches where it's doing a little bit, that gets a little difficult. So it's not the fact that he hasn't scored big runs. He hasn't scored a 50 or something,' Dasgupta told PTI news agency.
'But also, especially somebody batting at number three, you need to feel that solidity. And at times, it doesn't give me that impression,' Dasgupta added.
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