Latest news with #SaiSudharsan
News18
13 hours ago
- Sport
- News18
'What Crime Has Karun Nair Committed?': Legend Wants Fair Chance As Gill And Rahul
Karun Nair is under fire after failing to convert his chances on the ongoing tour of England, but Harbhajan Singh says India should persist with him. Ahead of India's 4th Test against England in Manchester, the focus is on their playing XI with eyes fixated on the likes of Karun Nair, B Sai Sudharsan and Kuldeep Yadav. While Nair is increasingly under pressure to keep his spot in the eleven after not performing to expectations while Kuldeep, an attacking wicket-taking spinner, is yet to get a game. On the other hand, Sai Sudharsan was dropped after making his debut in the series opener. With India trailing 2-1 in the five-match series and dealing with multiple injury setbacks, they have to make some hard choices as they fight to pull themselves on level terms with England at Old Trafford. Nair stormed back into the India setup after eight years thanks to productive outings in domestic cricket. However, on the ongoing England tour, he has only managed 131 runs across six innings including a duck. Legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh though thinks that the Indian team management should persist with Karun at Old Trafford even though his returns are below par. He cited the examples of Test captain Shubman Gill and the experienced KL Rahul who have benefitted from getting plenty of chances. 'It's right that Karun hasn't scored runs but if you've given him chances, then persist with him (now). He may have not scored runs as per expectations but he's a good cricketer. I think every player deserves a fair chance. Shubman Gill, KL Rahul – they all (were given chances) deserved. The benchmark should be the same for everyone. If others are getting 5-6 chances, then what crime have Karun Nair or Sai Sudharsan committed (to have not gotten more chances)?" Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel. One Change For Manchester Test Harbhajan suggested India to bring in Kuldeep Yadav for the all-important 4th Test that starts from Wednesday. 'Bring in Kuldeep Yadav. You don't need a deep batting line-up here. You've Washington Sundar, Jaddu is your backbone. He has batted really well throughout the series," he said. He also felt that hoping Sai Sudharsan to prove his credentials in just one Test wasn't justified. The top-order batter made 0 and 30 in Leeds before being consigned to the bench. 'I don't think one chance for Sai Sudharsan was justified to prove his talent. He's a talented player and will come good but if you are persisting with Karun, they play him (in Manchester)," Harbhajan said. view comments First Published: July 22, 2025, 08:51 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.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
IND vs ENG: ‘Sai Sudharsan was always my number 3…' — Sanjay Manjrekar puts his weight behind Sudharsan to be India's No. 3 in place of Karun Nair
While the Indian team management will be pondering over the changes to be made in the bowling attack with pacer Arshdeep Singh ruled out of the fourth Test and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy being ruled out of the series ahead of the Manchester Test, coach Gautam Gambhir will also be pondering over the number three batsman in the team. With Karun Nair, who had made a return to Test cricket after eight years in the first Test at Leeds, failing to score big with his highest score being 40 in the first innings in the Lord's Test, there has been talks about Sai Sudharsan coming at number three for the fourth Test at Manchester. While Nair played in the first Test at number five, the 33-year-old played at No. 3 for the Edgbaston and Lord's Test after Sudharsan had failed to impress in the opening Test. Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has talked about him not agreeing about Nair being India's number three and shared about how he sees Sai Sudharshan as the number three batsman for India in the remaining two Tests. '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 three I didn't agree with, maybe the team management might just want to prove a point that we were backing the right horse and give him one more match that's something happening with team management but I would like to see Sai sudharsan at number 3,' Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo. The Karnataka batsman, who had first burst on the International scene with a triple hundred against England in his maiden Test series in 2016, had a disappointing run in the opening Test at Leeds as he failed to score in the first innings followed by a knock of 20 runs in the second innings. In the last two Tests, Nair has scored a total of 111 runs and has failed to convert any of his knocks into a half-century or century. The 23-year-old Sudharsan, who has scored 1947 runs in 29 First Class matches with an average of just under 40, including seven hundreds and five fifties, had got out for a duck in the first innings of the Leeds test before he looked solid during his knock of 30 runs in the second innings. Former Indian wicket-keeper had also backed the youngster over Nair for the number three spot last week. '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. 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,' Dasgupta had told JioHotstar. Earlier, Indian team's assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate had also talked about the need for more runs from Nair, the number three. 'Probably both times in Headingley and obviously overnight and first thing in the morning at Lord's, we feel cost us the game was losing six wickets for 40 again. But if you look at it individually, if you look at the run tally of all the batters they're all batting nicely. Even someone like Karun, we feel his rhythm is good, his tempo is good. We want more runs from him at (number)three. But the message is mainly, let's really focus on what we've done well and tidy up the little things that have cost us results, essentially,' Ten Doeschate had said earlier.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
"Karun Nair At No.3 I Didn't Agree With": Ex-India Star's Blunt View. Names Replacement
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar suggested that Sai Sudharsan should have been given more chances 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 expresses disagreement with the team management's decision to go with Karun Nair at number 3 after giving Sudharsan one chance in the first of five Test match series against England last month. In a video posted by ESPNcricinfo on X, Sanjay 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 three I didn't agree with, maybe the team management might just want to prove a point that we were backing the right horse and give him one more match that's something happening with team management but I would like to see Sai sudharsan at number 3." Sai Sudharsan made his Test debut in the series opener against England, where he played at no. 3 as Indian skipper Shubman Gill batted at no. 4 after the veteran batter Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this year, who batted at that position for a decade. Sudharsan was dismissed for 0 in the first innings followed by a decent 30 runs in the second, he was dropped from the playing 11 in the second fixture and Karun Nair who batted at no.6 was promoted to no.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 23 July. The Men in Blue are currently 1-2 down in the five-match series after losing the third Test at Lord's by just 22 runs, despite a fighting effort by the tailenders and Ravindra Jadeja while chasing 193.
News18
2 days ago
- Sport
- News18
Not Karun Nair! Ex-India Batter Wants GT Star To Bat At No. 3 In 4th Test
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.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Farokh Engineer minces no words, lashes out at Karun Nair for 'beautiful 30s': ‘Got to get a not-so-beautiful 100'
Former India cricketer Farokh Engineer didn't mince his words while criticising Karun Nair, who failed to make an impact with the bat in the ongoing Test series against England. The Vidarbha batter, who made a comeback into the Indian team after eight years, has failed to cross the 50-run mark in the six innings, and now, with India currently trailing 1-2, his place in the XI has been put under the scanner. He has managed just 131 runs at a batting average of less than 22 and failed at both number 3 and 5 so far. Karun Nair has failed to impress in the first three Tests against England.(AP) Farokh slammed Karun for not converting his starts into big scores, which is required from a batter who is batting at number 3. "Karun Nair has been getting brilliant 20s and 30s. He's (Nair) scored beautiful 30 runs, beautiful cover drives and all that. But a beautiful 30 is not expected from a No. 3. You've got to get a not-so-beautiful 100. You need runs on the board. You need (to score) bigger. The expectation should be much higher," he told the Times of India. Nair forced his way back into the Indian Test squad on the back of a stellar 2024–25 domestic campaign. Representing Vidarbha, he amassed 863 runs in nine Ranji Trophy matches at an average of nearly 54, including a crucial century in the final against Kerala. His form carried into the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he hammered 779 runs in eight innings at an eye-popping average of 389.50, registering five centuries. 'Haven't seen much of Sai Sudharsan' Farokh has firmly told head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill to pick a player who can help win the match, while recommending Sai Sudharsan, who was put on the bench after the first Test. The elegant left-hander did not do much wrong to be excluded, and it was done to accommodate an extra batting option at number eight. "We should pick the best XI. I haven't seen much of Sai Sudharsan. You've got to pick the best player for the time being. Who's going to give you maximum? You are playing for your country. Your reputation is at stake. So, I would say, forget the age. If he's good, play him to win this Test match," said Engineer.
