IND vs ENG: 'Sai Sudharsan must own No.3 spot' - R Ashwin gives blunt verdict on Karun Nair's batting position
NEW DELHI: Veteran India off-spinner
Ravichandran Ashwin
has weighed in on India's top-order batting conundrum, questioning the team management's decision to push Karun Nair to No. 3 in the second and third Tests of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England.
According to Ashwin, the move was a tactical misstep that disrupted the mindset of a player who has not batted in that position before.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
'Karun Nair has never played at No. 3. Now, by playing him at No. 3, you have put his mindset in a block,' Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. After batting at No. 6 in the opening Test at Headingley, Nair was promoted to No. 3 in Birmingham and Lord's but failed to make an impact, leading to his exclusion for the fourth Test at Old Trafford.
Rishabh Pant suffers right foot injury in India vs England Test; taken off in an ambulance
Ashwin instead heaped praise on Sai Sudharsan, who replaced Nair and made a composed 61 off 151 balls on Day 1 of the Manchester Test. 'Credit to Sai Sudharsan, because it is not easy being a youngster after getting dropped and with India 1-2 behind in the series to come into the fourth Test and respond the way he did. I think he has to own that No. 3 for the near future to be able to give a bit of solidity for the team,' Ashwin said.
Poll
Was promoting Karun Nair to No. 3 a tactical misstep by the team management?
Yes, it disrupted his mindset.
No, it was a strategic decision.
Comparing Sudharsan to stalwarts like Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara, Ashwin said, 'He showed that sort of solidity. He was able to leave the ball. He earned the right to score those runs. I am a bit upset because I am a huge well-wisher of him. He could have scored a hundred.'
India ended Day 1 at 264/4, with Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur unbeaten. Ashwin also pointed out a technical flaw in Sudharsan's game, suggesting England missed a trick. 'One thing that will give him trouble early on is the ball coming back in from over the stumps. Shardul Thakur dismissed him in that fashion in a Ranji Trophy final.'
'He was in a lot of pain': Sai Sudharsan admits Rishabh Pant's absence could hurt India
Ashwin concluded by underlining the mental strength Sudharsan showed. 'What a fine, fine knock for somebody playing in his second Test. He was technically equipped and mentally strong. There was no need to drop him earlier.'
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Inspiration behind Ben Stokes' leadership and high work rate is a Brad Pitt movie
England captain Ben Stokes is said to have gotten his biggest leadership lesson from a Brad Pitt war movie. Fury is about a US Army officer taking on the Germans in World War II. In an iconic scene from the movie, Pitt, playing tank commander Don 'Wardaddy' Collier, tells his men to retreat as he plans to guard the post alone. This was his way of telling them that the mission was too dangerous. After a moment of hesitation, every soldier lines up behind Pitt. 'I would never ask somebody to do something that I wasn't prepared to do. Have you seen Fury? The bit for me that stands out is when he tells them all to leave and he's just going to stand there and fight on his own,' Stokes had once told The Times cricket correspondent Michael Atherton. This India-England series has been Stokes's Fury. For an England captain, leading from the front means doing the dirtiest of jobs. Today morning, England needed to be cautiously aggressive. They wanted quick runs but they couldn't afford to throw wickets. Overnight the home team was 544/7, leading by 176 runs. England wanted a lead of about 300 to bat out India from the game and put them under scoreboard pressure. 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙢, 𝘾𝙤𝙤𝙡, 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙣 🔥#BenStokes shows great composure, calmly facing 6 dot balls on 99 before finally reaching a well-earned century with a confident shot 🙌#ENGvIND 👉 4th TEST, DAY 4 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar 👉 — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 26, 2025 So who would take the lead? Who else but Stokes. The two Indian new-ball bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were much better today, the pitch too was showing life. But Stokes planned his assault well, it was easy to decide who he would take on. Siraj it would be. On his second ball of the day, Stokes would step out and drive through covers for a four. The next Bumrah over he would get to play a couple of balls and move to the other end, where he would wait for Siraj's second over. Once again on the second delivery, he got an over-pitched ball. Stokes would lean into it, go on his knees and blast it through cover. He held his pose as Old Trafford stood up and applauded. The Stokes show had commenced, the plan to score quickly, pile runs and put India into bat was on track. Here was a captain who would first draw the blueprint and also get into overalls to put in place the brick and mortar. In the first session Stokes would hit 5 fours and 3 sixes to compile a quick hundred. The hands-on captain had once again set the tone and others had followed. Liam Dawson (26, 4×3) and Brydon Carse 47 (4×3, 6×2) followed the path that their captain had shown and India close to lunch were trailing by 311 runs. In the first session England had scored 115 runs in 22 overs. Once again the captain had run the hard yards. It has been the same with the ball too. In this series, he has bowled over 125 overs, surely not the most in his team. But he bowled the longest spells in the toughest conditions. At Lord's on the final day, it was anybody's game. India was closing in on the total, England couldn't afford to have bowled loose balls. It was a game Jofra Archer was returning to international cricket after a long break. Stokes was to take the role of a strike-bowler. Once again England needed someone to strike the perfect balance – a bowler who can attack but not give away runs and also take wickets. It was in the second innings that Stokes bowled the most number of overs — 24. There were a couple of marathon spells in the heat of London. After one 9-over spell he bowled unchanged for 10 overs. He didn't let off the pressure on India. In the first spell he got KL Rahul and there came another important strike at the right time. When Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah seemed all set to pull off a miracle. There were many worried English faces around the ground. That's when Stokes became the tank commander from Fury, took it upon himself to close the game. The English captain would dig deep and bang a ball short. Bumrah would try to pull and get out. At Lord's, Stokes bowled 24 overs in the second, after his 20 in the first. Old Trafford too hasn't eased his load. On the first day, he bowled 14 overs and 10 the next day. England needed to restrict India and Stokes's 5 wickets went a long way in reducing them 583. A fiver and 100 in one Test, Stokes has been the hands-on captain in this crucial game. For his Lord's effort, Stokes would win praise from the rival camp. Siraj would say: 'If you can learn from someone there is no shame, Ben Stokes bowled two spells of 10 overs each and hats off to him'. Even today after the England captain was leaving the field after his hundred, Siraj would run across and shake his hands. The only player who can match Stokes's charisma in this series is Rishabh Pant. The Indian wicket-keeper has shown in the series he too can change games by doing the dirtiest job in the most beautiful manner. Now that Pant is out, Stokes the Showman has the stage all to himself. And the rest of the England cast is just repeating his moves.
News18
39 minutes ago
- News18
Imran Khan To Ben Stokes: 5 Captains To Score 100 & Take 5-Wicket Haul In Same Test
In the 148-year-long history of Test cricket, a total of five captains have scored a century and taken a five-wicket haul as well in the same Test. Here's a look at them: Ben Stokes entered his name in the history books on Saturday (July 26) by becoming the first England and overall fifth captain in the world to score a century and take a five-wicket haul in a Test match. The 34-year-old all-rounder bowled 24 overs in the first innings of the ongoing fourth India-England Test at Old Trafford in Manchester and picked up 5 wickets for 72 runs. He then came out to bat at No. 6 for the hosts and, with the help of 11 fours and 3 sixes, scored 141 runs from 198 balls. In the last 148 years, a total of 82 players have captained England in 1088 Test matches, but Stokes is the first one to score a century and take a fifer as well in the same Test. The last Test captain before Stokes to score a century and take at least five wickets in an innings was Imran Khan of Pakistan. The legendary all-rounder achieved that feat against India in Faisalabad in 1983. Here's a look at five captains who have scored a century and taken a five-wicket haul in a Test match: Denis Atkinson (West Indies) vs Australia, Bridgetown (1955) West Indies' great Denis Atkinson was the first captain in the history of Test cricket to score a century and take a five-wicket haul in the same Test. He achieved the feat against Australia during the match played in Bridgetown from May 14 to 20 in 1955. Denis came out to bat at No. 7 in the first innings and scored 219 runs and then picked up 5 wickets for 56 runs in the second innings, where he bowled 36.2 overs. Legendary all-rounder Garry Sobers was the second Test captain to score a century and take a fifer in the same Test. Sobers scored 174 runs from 260 balls as a No. 6 batter for the West Indies in the first innings of the 1966 Leeds Test against England and then finished with figures of 19.3-4-41-5 in the first innings to bowl England out for just 240 runs. In the second innings he picked up three more wickets to help his side win the contest by an innings and 55 runs. Mushtaq Mohammad (Pakistan) vs West Indies, Port of Spain (1977) Pakistan's Mushtaq Mohammad came out to bat at No. 5 against the West Indies in the first innings of the Port of Spain Test played from April 1 to 6 in 1977 and scored 121 runs. He then bowled 10.5 overs as well and picked up five wickets for 28 runs. In the second innings of that match, Mushtaq scored 56 runs again and picked up 3 wickets to set up Pakistan's win by 266 runs. Imran Khan (Pakistan) vs India, Faisalabad (1983) In the 1983 India-Pakistan Test match played at Faisalabad from January 3 to 8 in 1983, Imran Khan scored 117 runs from 121 balls as a No. 7 batter in the first innings after dismissing 6 Indian batters for 98 runs in 25 overs. In the second innings once again, Imran picked up five wickets for 82 runs in 30.5 overs and sealed his side's win by 10 wickets. Ben Stokes (England) vs India, Manchester (2025) Ben Stokes bowled 24 overs for England in the first innings of the ongoing fourth Test in Manchester and picked up 5 wickets for 72 runs. He then came out to bat at No. 6 and, with the help of 11 fours and 3 sixes, scored 141 runs from 198 balls. Stokes is overall the fourth England cricketer after Tony Greig, Ian Botham (5 times), and Gus Atkinson to score a century and take a fifer in the same Test. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
39 minutes ago
- News18
Ben Stokes Becomes Third Cricketer After Garry Sobers & Jacques Kallis To...
Ben Stokes became only the third cricketer to complete 7000 runs and 200 wickets after Jacques Kallis and Gary Sobers. Ben Stokes has been the driving force for England in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Until Friday, he was just the highest wicket-taker of the Test series, but on Saturday, he also broke a two-year drought for a Test hundred. The English skipper launched a brutal assault against the Indian attack, smashing 141 runs with the help of 11 boundaries and 3 sixes. The knock came after a stunning 5-wicket haul in the first innings that sparked India's batting collapse. Thus Stokes became the fourth England cricketer to score a hundred and take five wickets in the same Test, joining the elite company of Tony Greig, Ian Botham — who achieved it five times — and Gus Atkinson. Double of 7000 runs and 200 wickets in Tests Garry Sobers (8032 runs & 235 wkts) Jacques Kallis (13289 runs & 292 wkts) Ben Stokes (7000* runs & 229 wkts)* Stokes' commanding 141 lifted England to 669 all out on Day 4 of the fourth Test, their fifth-highest Test score ever, giving them a formidable first-innings lead of 311 runs. The England skipper, who resumed on 77 not out, had thrilled the crowd with his trademark aggressive strokeplay. Despite not bowling between lunch and tea, a team spokesperson clarified he was fit, having already made an impact with the ball earlier by returning figures of 5-72 in India's first innings total of 358. This knock marked Stokes' first Test century since his exhilarating 155 against Australia at Lord's in June 2023. The 34-year-old celebrated his 14th century in 115 Tests emotionally, clenching his fist, looking skyward, and making a crooked finger gesture in memory of his late father Ged Stokes before acknowledging the crowd with a raised bat. view comments First Published: July 26, 2025, 21:13 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
