Will Karun Nair Be Dropped For 4th Test : As India trail 2-1 in the five-match IND vs ENG Test series, there could be some changes to their lineup for the 4th Test, which will begin on July 23 at Old Trafford in Manchester.
While the major focus remains on whether Jasprit Bumrah will play in the fourth Test or will be rested, the team management may be having doubts over the place of batsman Karun Nair in the XI.
Nair, India’s only second Test triple centurion, returned to the Test side after eight years in the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy.
He’s played in all three Test matches so far in the India vs England Test series, scoring 131 runs at an average of 21 with a highest score of 40, which came in the Lord’s Test.
Among the Indian batsmen who have played in all three Tests in this series, Nair’s runs and average are the least. However, Nair hasn’t totally looked out of place: he’s got starts in four out of his six innings—making scores between 20 and 40—but has failed to convert them into substantial knocks.
While he’s not reached the half-century milestone, Karun Nair, who has played 250 deliveries in the series so far, has often spent considerable time in the middle, allowing for Shubman Gill and the other batsmen to walk in when the ball has gone softer.
Nair has looked assured most of the time—he’s creamed 18 fours, most of them gorgeous cover, off, and on drives, and flicks off the pads—meaning he’s been cautious in dealing with good balls and disdainful in punishing fuller, hittable balls. He’s also been a victim of a couple of unplayable deliveries from the England seamers.
IND vs ENG: Will Karun Nair Be Dropped For 4th Test In Manchester?
Karun Nair’s lack of big runs has hurt India, though the team management seems to be impressed with his rhythm in the middle. India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said that India wanted more runs from Nair, but they felt his tempo had been good so far in the series. Nair may get one more chance in the 4th Test at Old Trafford in Manchester before India think of discarding him.
Ten Doeschate said, “If you look at it individually, if you look at the run tally of all the batters, they are all batting nicely. Even someone like Karun [Nair], we feel his rhythm’s 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 have done well and tidy up the little things that have cost us results, essentially.”
If India do drop Nair, they can pick Sai Sudharsan, who played in the first Test and scored 30 runs across two innings.
India could also be facing the dilemma where Rishabh Pant, who injured his finger at Lord’s, may not be fit to keep wickets in Manchester. That would force them to play Dhruv Jurel, likely in place of Karun Nair.
Regarding Bumrah, the assistant coach said that, with the series on the line and an eight-day gap between the third and fourth Tests, India are “leaning” towards playing Bumrah in Manchester.
“We know we have got him for one of the last two Tests. It’s pretty obvious that the series on the line now in Manchester so there will be a leaning towards playing him,” ten Doeschate affirmed.
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