The race for the vacant No. 3 spot is heating up, and the returning Karun Nair could most likely take the spot in the opening game against England in Leeds, which begins on June 20. But ahead of the big game, that could mark his return to the India XI after eight years, Nair was seen in considerable discomfort in the penultimate net session before the Headingley Test.
Nair earned his long-awaited comeback following a record domestic season, where he clobbered a plethora of runs in both Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy. He then vindicated the selectors' trust with a double century in the India A game, which certainly put him ahead in the race against Sai Sudharsan for a role in India batting line-up.
However, a RevSportz report on India's penultimate training session for the Test series at the Headingley Stadium claimed that the 33-year-old was not at his very best on Wednesday. Neither did he look confident against pacers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, who troubled him with deliveries outside the outside off, not did he manage to settle against the spinners, who eventually forced him to play a few uncharacteristic shots. He was even clean bowled by Ravindra Jadeja during the sessions.
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"Nair appeared slightly under-confident in the nets. Starting off at the pacers' net, he struggled against the pace and accuracy of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, who bowled with intensity and control. Deliveries outside off stump caused him trouble, leading to several tentative defensive strokes," read the report.
{{/usCountry}}"Nair appeared slightly under-confident in the nets. Starting off at the pacers' net, he struggled against the pace and accuracy of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, who bowled with intensity and control. Deliveries outside off stump caused him trouble, leading to several tentative defensive strokes," read the report.
{{/usCountry}}"He then moved to the spin nets, where he faced Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, along with a couple of local Yorkshire bowlers. Nair was dismissed a couple of times, including once clean bowled by Jadeja. In an attempt to break free, he tried a few uncharacteristic strokes — including reverse sweeps. Such strokes do not come naturally to a batter like Nair and one could clearly see that the shots were a result of the frustration building inside him."
Matters worsened for the Karnataka batter when a Prasidh Krishna delivery struck him on the ribs. But Nair did not give up.
The report further said that batting coach Shitanshu Kotak pulled him aside for a brief chat, after which he showed some improvement by playing straighter.
India will hope it was merely an off day for the veteran batter, who has been touted for a place in the India XI for the match against England. The team will have their final net session on Thursday at the same venue.
The report also added that the India bowlers had an extended batting session on Wednesday, with the likes of Kuldeep and Bumrah padded up to take on local howlers and a few teammates in Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar.