After a dramatic comeback to level the series at Edgbaston, India are set to make just one change for the third Test at Lord’s. Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested in Birmingham to manage workload, will return to the playing XI in place of Prasidh Krishna. There have been calls and discussions on a possible ouster of Karun Nair and the fantasy inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav. However, a green top in London can put all the questions to rest.
The rest of the squad, including under-pressure batter Karun Nair, is likely to remain unchanged, sources have confirmed to CricBlogger. The call means India has confidence in their current combination and a clear sign that head coach Gautam Gambhir is prepared to back his players, even amid external noise. Bumrah’s return is a no-brainer and it will make the bowling unit that already looked sharp at Edgbaston even stronger. Akash Deep bagged a maiden fifer and Mohammed Siraj bowled long, tireless spells, also taking a fifer in the first-innings.
Karun Nair gets a longer rope
Karun Nair’s continued presence is bound to spark debate. The middle-order batter has scored 77 runs in four innings across the first two Tests (0, 20, 31, 26), and remains the only one among India’s top seven not to register a fifty. All this at two flat pitches. With promising names like Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran on the bench, many expected a shuffle.
But it seems Gambhir is ready to offer Nair one more opportunity to come good. The 32-year-old did not waste time after landing in London, as he was among the 11 players to attend the optional nets session on Tuesday, while senior batters like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul took the day off. Nair faced Jadeja and Kuldeep extensively, aware that another failure could cost him his spot.
Karun Nair in Leeds & Birmingham Tests
- Total Runs: 77 runs (0, 20, 31 and 26)
- Innings: 4 innings
- Average: 19.25
- Balls Faced: 154
- Dismissal Types: Caught (4) – 2 in the slips, 1 at short cover, 1 caught and bowled.
Lord’s to be final chance for Nair?
According to former India opener Aakash Chopra, the third Test might be Karun Nair’s last shot at glory. While he obliged that the Karnataka-born truly deserves a another chance, his lack of runs has come to the forefront as well. Making his return after an eight-year absence, Nair would love to seize the opportunity and elongate his run at the highest level.
“I would say give Karun Nair one more chance for sure, because this is now Karun Nair’s final chance. He played earlier, scored a triple century, and then got dropped. It was slightly unfair at that time,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Then he scored a lot of runs and returned to the team. He asked cricket to give him a second chance. He went to Vidarbha, and cricket gave him a second chance. However, at some stage, that story will also end, and this is the match. In the first two matches, we have seen glimpses that he can bat well, but he hasn’t scored too many runs,” he observed.
India have won two of their last three Tests at Lord’s with the most recent a famous win under Virat Kohli in 2021. With a chance to go 2-1 up in the series, Gambhir and Gill look to have a perfect combination.
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