Karun Nair’s time running out? Former Indian cricketer hints the single change for Manchester Test
Following his unimpressive performances during the England series, former Indian wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta believes Karun Nair's time in national side is running out.
Karun Nair got a second chance in cricket, but he doesn't seem to have made the most of it during the England tour- and might even end up being dropped from India's playing XI for the fourth Test of the five-match series at Manchester. Being named in the national side after 8 long years, the 33-year-old got decent starts in most of his six innings, but he failed to convert those starts to a respectable score.
Karun Nair has performed well in the middle, especially when it comes to drive the ball- but the balls rising from lengths have always bothered him. As he comes to bat at No. 3, India expected some solidarity from Karun Nair- who was named in the national team after piling up a heap ton of runs in domestic cricket.
With the Indian team currently trailing 1-2 in the five-match series (with the next match more than a week away), the team management needs to make a tough call on whether to stick with Karun Nair or bring in much younger Sai Sudharshan- who faced the bitter side of the game after not being named in playing XI following his debut match.
Following the tragic 22-run loss at Lord's Test, former Indian wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta- currently commentating the series- believes it might be time to bring back Sai Sudharshan. "You are still in it very much in the series so because even this Test match at Lord's was extremely close. It could have gone either way," Dasgupta told PTI.
"What I would be looking at is at number three. Would Karun Nair still continue or you want to invest in a young player like Sai Sudharsan who looked comfortable in the last innings that he played in that first Test match? He is young and investment for the future. Karun I think has got his chances. It's not about chances. More than that, I think how he's looked. He's looked comfortable in patches but a few questions are still unanswered. And that's what kind of makes me think otherwise," he added.
Even though the Indian team lost the Lord's Test and are trailing the series 1-2, they still have a chance to win as they aim to win the upcoming two matches- with the next match set to be held at Manchester from July 23rd.