Karun Nair waited eight years to wear the India jersey again. After 25 days in his second stint of Test cricket, the Karnataka batter might have played his last international game. This comes after he failed six times in a row in the current series against England.
Nair returned to the Indian team after scoring a lot in domestic cricket. He started his time in the UK well, with a double century against England Lions in Canterbury, which helped him get selected. Still, after three Tests at Headingley, Edgbaston, and Lord’s, Nair has only scored 131 runs, with an average of just under 22. It will be hard for the team management, led by Gautam Gambhir, to ignore these numbers.
Sai Sudharsan, who debuted at Leeds, seemed steady during his second innings’ 30. Still, when deciding the team combination, Nair, who is almost 34, was picked instead. This is because the younger batter is thought to have a long future ahead.
For Nair, it was a make-or-break situation. Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill had good reason to give Nair a fair chance. Nair didn’t seem completely out of place in all three games, facing 249 balls in total. Yet, he seemed to struggle with high-quality pace and seam movement together.
Nair could handle Chris Woakes’ pace in the early 130s. But he seemed a bit slow to react to faster bowlers like Brydon Carse or Jofra Archer. What is Nair’s technical problem? Former India selector and Delhi Ranji coach Devang Gandhi looked at his game.
He is working hard until he loses focus. Apart from the first innings at Leeds, he has played at least 30 balls in each innings. This means he is trying hard, but not getting results, Gandhi told PTI. Why is this happening? Karun’s trigger movement is a bit late compared to someone like Shubman Gill. If you watch closely, Karun’s front foot is still in the air when the pace bowler releases the ball. If the front foot is in the air at that point, it means he will be late if he wants to go on the back foot.
You can handle a Woakes at his pace, but Archer, Carse, or even Stokes, who can bowl a fast delivery now and then, can be hard to handle, Gandhi said. Every technical issue has a solution. Gandhi thinks that if the strong Bengaluru man gets another chance, there is only one thing he can do at this point in his career. He needs to trigger earlier. He can do that, or he needs to trigger differently for bowlers with different paces. The second solution is hard and would take time and skill to adapt.
India plays their next Test at Old Trafford starting July 23. The team management has a week to decide if Nair should get another chance. Both Gandhi and former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta think it might be time to give Sai Sudharsan a fair chance. He is seen as the future of this Test team for the next ten years.
You have to think about the future. Karun is almost 34, and Sai is 21. If you’ve decided to invest in Sai, then let him get experience playing Tests in England. He is improving and will only get better, Dasgupta said.