India’s new vice-captain Rishabh Pant recently revealed India’s batting lineup for the first Test against England. He admitted that Shubman Gill will replace Virat Kohli at number four, while he will occupy the fifth batting slot. This leaves room for a number three batter, which is most likely to be occupied by Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan. The two talented batters are in a head-to-head battle for a spot, and that’s why the net sessions before the Headingley Test are of paramount importance.
Karun Nair’s awful net session
Karun Nair, unfortunately, had a day to forget on Wednesday. In India’s first training session, under Gautam Gambhir’s watch, Nair didn’t seem to be in rhythm. As per RevSportz, Nair first faced the pacers, and the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj breathed down his neck. Nair got troubled against the outside off-stump.
Next, the Karnataka-born batter got out multiple times against spinners as well. He tried unorthodox reverse-sweeps against Ravindra Jadeja only to find out that his patience was running thin. Once Nair faced pacers again, a scare broke out.
Prasidh Krishna, who extracts a lot of bounce off the deck, belted in bouncers to Nair, with one hitting the batter on his left ribcage. India’s bowling coach, Morne Morkel, quickly asked for medics to help. While Nair was soon taken care of, he continued to bat a little more before having a lengthy technical chat with batting coach Shitanshu Kotak. You can watch the video of Karun Nair getting hit by Prasidh Krishna here.
Sai Sudharsan to pip Nair?
Conversely, Nair’s competition, Sai Sudharsan, impressed. The 23-year-old looked confident, commanding and fluent in the nets even while facing the likes of Bumrah and Siraj. Coming on the back of a terrific IPL 2025, where he ended up as the Orange Cap winner, has given a good account of himself.
It won’t be surprising if Shubman Gill chooses his Gujarat Titans (GT) partner to replace him at number three. After all, he has outdone Karun Nair in the nets so far. Both batters will get another chance to showcase their rhythm when India practices on the eve of the match in Leeds.
