'Play Straight, Be Great': Kevin Pietersen's Advice To Karun Nair Ahead Of IND-ENG Tests
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Nair is part of India's Test squad for the five-match series against England starting June 20 in Leeds. The 33-year-old right-handed batter will also play for India A.
Karun Nair is back in the Indian team after more than eight years. The right-handed batter from Vidarbha, who has a triple century to his name in Test cricket, is part of the Shubman Gill-led Indian team for the upcoming five-match series against England. The 33-year-old cricketer, who last played a Test match for India in March 2017, landed in England earlier this week and has kicked off his preparations for the high-profile series.
Karun, who impressed with his performances for Vidarbha in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, took to Instagram on Wednesday (May 28) to share a couple of pictures of him from the nets session.
He captioned the post, 'Out and about #prep."
Here's a look:
Former England Test captain and legendary batter Kevin Pietersen took note of Nair's post and shared valuable advice for him by writing, 'play straight, be great," in the comment section.
advetisement
Before getting a chance to play for the Indian team, Karun will represent the India A team in two four-day matches against the England Lions. The first unofficial Test between the two teams is scheduled to take place in Canterbury from May 30 to June 2, and Northampton will host the second game from June 6 to 9.
During the two matches, Nair, who is backed as India's new No. 4 batter in Test cricket by Anil Kumble following Virat Kohli's retirement on May 12, will have a chance to present a case for his place in the playing XI of the first Test between India and England at Headingley in Leeds.
India A squad for four-day matches against England Lions: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (VC) (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (WK), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey
India's squad for Test series against England: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
Nair's recent form
Nair was part of the Delhi Capitals squad in IPL 2025, and he played eight matches for the Axar Patel-led side, in which, with the help of one half-century (89 runs), he scored 198 runs. In DC's last league match of the season, Nair came out to bat at No. 3 on Saturday (May 24) and scored 44 runs from 27 balls.
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First Published:
May 28, 2025, 19:01 IST
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