Karun Nair’s dream comeback to India’s Test team might be over. The 33-year-old was rewarded another chance by the selection, but the England tour didn’t go as planned. Nair scored just 205 runs at 25.62 in 8 innings with just a half-century. But due to non-performance by Sai Sudharsan, Nair still had hope.
The southpaw amassed 140 runs at 23.33. Granted, it was his debut Test series; Sudharsan couldn’t excel in what were batting-friendly conditions for the most part. Nair’s also got experience and flexibility. He can bat from number three to six. But Sudharsan has closed the number three door on him.
Sudharsan’s gutsy knock for India A
With the India vs West Indies Test series about a week away, Sudharsan has scored in an incredible 75-run lone-warrior knock for India A. The 23-year-old had scored a fifty in the prior match against Australia A, but those were good batting conditions.
In the second game, the visitors had put up 420 runs on the board and in reply, had India A at 127/7. Of course, Sudharsan had come in much earlier. 27/1 was his entry point. One by one, he saw wickets tumble. Numbers four, five, and six (Devdutt Paddikal, Dhruv Jurel, and Nitish Kumar Reddy) scored 1 run each.
Within no time, India A were 75/5. But Sudharsan held one end. From there, he dragged the total to 194. This included partnerships with Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj. By the time Sudharsan departed for 75, the score was 193/9. The southpaw had shown what he could do against quality bowlers in a difficult situation.
Karun Nair in trouble?
With this, Sudharsan has probably sealed the number three spot for the India vs West Indies Test series. Shubman Gill will be number four and Dhruv Jurel at five due to Rishabh Pant’s injury. The only spot left is number six. It may have gone to Nair, but Paddikal is expected to come back into the team.
He recently scored a classy 150 against Australia A and featured in the India vs Australia Test series as well. The 25-year-old is the future; at least that’s what BCCI has decided. Perhaps Nair’s future wasn’t sealed just yet, but Sudharsan has made sure he doesn’t get anywhere near the number three spot.
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