With the 4th Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy underway in Manchester, there were many talks surrounding India's playing XI and Indian batter Karun Nair's exclusion in the all-important game.
India headed to the Manchester Test with a 22-run defeat at Lord's, where the batters failed to score 193 runs in the final innings. The Indian batting, post their failure, came under a lot of criticism, with Karun Nair being the center of it all.
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Nair has now been dropped from the fourth Test, and if reports are to be believed, it might be the end for the batter's career in Indian whites.
Karun Nair out of red-ball contention post England tour?
Karun, in the six innings at the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, has scored 131 runs at an average of just 21. He also remained the only Indian batter from India's top 6 without a half-century in the first three Tests.
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His inconsistent performances have now led to him being dropped from the fourth Test. The Karnataka batter's Test career started with a lot of promise when he scored a triple century against England in Chennai in 2016. However, the batter never got going from there on as he was dropped from the Indian side.
Cricket, however, did give Karun Nair one more chance when he was added to India's squad for the England red-ball tour. Karun made a comeback to the national setup on the back of a prolific domestic season. Playing for Vidharbha, Karun showed consistent performances throughout the 2024-25 season.
During the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Nair amassed 779 runs, including five centuries at an unbelievable average of almost 340. The Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season was no less, as the batter amassed 863 runs in 16 innings.
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The batter also scored a double ton playing for India A against England Lions, leading up to the series; however, the batter did not manage to convert starts against England in the First three Tests of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Now, according to journalist Kushan Sarkar, Nair might have already played his last Test at Lord's after he failed to impress in the six chances he got this series. Sai Sudharsan has come back into the lineup, in place of Karun Nair for the fourth Test in Manchester.
Karun Nair's performances in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy:
| Match | 1st innings | 2nd innings |
| 1st Test, Headingley | 0 (4) | 20 (54) |
| 2nd Test, Edgbaston | 31 (50) | 26 (46) |
| 3rd Test, Lord's | 40 (62) | 14 (33) |