Sai Sudharsan in place of Karun Nair? It has shades of Dravid taking Manjrekar's spot during the 1996 tour to England

Indian Express

19-07-2025

On that famous 1996 tour of England, Sanjay Manjrekar, the team's trusted No.3 batsman, twisted his ankle in the first Test. In the second game at Lord's, Rahul Dravid, along with Sourav Ganguly, would make a sparkling Test debut. Manjrekar would play his last Test the same year and Dravid, who would go on to be India's new No.3, would go on to play 91 straight Tests.
In 1996, Manjrekar was 31, Dravid 23.
For the crucial Test of this series in Manchester, India is considering a change at No.3 and this too can have far-reaching consequences. India is wondering aloud if Sai Sudharsan is a better option than Karun Nair. Here are the numbers.
Sai got one Test, the opening game at Leeds, made 0 and 30 and was dropped because of combination calculations. Nair has played 3 Tests, made 0, 20, 31, 26, 40, and 14. There are calls for his dropping. As coincidences go, Nair is 33 and Sai is as old as Dravid in 1996. He is 23.
Nair or Sai? – this will be an important call for Indian cricket. Dropping a player in the early 30s for someone in the 20s is a switch that comes with a stamp of permanency. It is seen as a hint to the older player that the team has moved on. Will it be fair on Nair, whose return to the Test side was seen as justice to someone wronged for long?
Before the England tour, whenever there would be a debate on selection apathy, Nair would get mentioned. After every Test match setback, there would be an outcry about recalling the batsman who scored a triple hundred but was dropped within six months of that marathon milestone.
Loss to New Zealand at home, Australia abroad, retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Nair's roaring domestic performance – the stars aligned and the most-awaited comeback would take place. However, the Nair story hasn't been written by a fairytale writer.
Playing as a guest player for Vidarbha on the domestic circuit, Nair has had two stellar seasons where he scored 1,553 and 883 runs. As cricket writers love to say, he didn't just knock at the selectors' door, he blew it with a bazooka full of runs. Nair plays domestic cricket, unlike the stars in the Indian middle-order who kept failing. He should be playing Tests, it was said.
Carse is STEAMING in! 😤
Nair departs! ☝ pic.twitter.com/IKrZHn7L0l
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 13, 2025
But things didn't pan out the way it was expected. In this ongoing England series of multiple hundreds, Nair hasn't even scored one half-century in three Tests. Was this the time to toggle to Indian cricket's other favourite rhetoric – Does India's domestic circuit prepare a player for international cricket? Dropping Nair isn't merely a middle-order musical chair, it is not just a line in a selection story, it's a hyperlink to other big picture narratives.
Nair is fighting for the No.3 spot against a very able competitor. Sai comes to the Indian set-up with a massive reputation. His work ethics and commitment haven't gone unnoticed by the team management.
The story goes that Sai had suffered a serious setback a day before the India A vs England Lions series at the start of 2024. On eve of the first match, the left-hander broke his finger at the nets. That series was important for Sai in case he wanted to remain in contention for a place in the Test squad. A decision was taken, the Tamil Nadu batsman would bear pain and carry on.
ALSO READ | Sai Sudharsan's journey to Test debut – how a distracted youngster was motivated after watching Virat Kohli's intense training sessions
In the two games, he scored a century and a 97. Among the England Lions was present Test pacer Brydon Carse. Those were quality knocks. Sai's IPL runs came much later, the selectors had liked what they saw. They were impressed by the youngster's temperament and technique.
The chairman of the national selection committee Ajit Agarkar underlined this fact at the press conference when the team for the England tour was announced. 'When England Lions came, he did well. We have not picked him because of the IPL. He has shown the right way and seems to have the game to succeed at the top level. We have been looking at him for a while, but there has never been any place in the team,' Agarkar said.
The best bits of Sai Sudharsan's first Surrey century! 🎬
🤎 | #SurreyCricket pic.twitter.com/orjbk2aWCY
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) August 31, 2024
All through this England tour, Sai has come across as a compulsive trainer. Coaches have had a tired look on their faces indulging the batsman's request for a few more balls of knocking. A day before the second Test at Birmingham, when it was already decided that Sai would sit out, he trained as hard as Shubman Gill, his captain both at Team India and Gujarat Titans.
It was a day of optional training and very few had turned up, Shubman and Sai after long batting nets had a long fielding session. There was no one to tell them, these were self-motivated cricketers sweating it out to improve.
An important voice in Indian cricket says Sai is easily the most-hardworking Indian cricketer. 'He has the potential to play international cricket for the next 15 years,' he said.
His batting approach too is the kind that would work overseas. His pull, sweep, straight drive as well as back foot punches to covers are noteworthy. He is fast on his feet and has great hands.
On Sai, the great Sachin Tendulkar said: 'Whatever I saw of Sai Sudharsan, he looked compact when playing front-foot defense. His hands are close to his body, which is good. If he can continue to keep his hands close to the body with his vertical bat-shots, he will be fine. Like I said earlier, batting in V and getting forward without hands going away from the body.'
Nair or Sai?