Karun Nair’s ‘emotional story’ all but over after Manchester axe: ‘Cricket gave him another chance but unfortunately…’

Karun Nair’s Test comeback ends in heartbreak as India drop him for 4th Test after poor run—131 runs in 6 innings with no fifty since recall.

Karun Nair's shot at redemption all but ended in Manchester on Wednesday as India dropped him from the playing XI for the must-win fourth Test match against England to make way for Sai Sudharsan. India made three changes, two others being debutant Anshul Kamboj and all-rounder Shardul Thakur for injured Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep.

India's Karun Nair during a practice session ahead of the fourth test cricket match between India and England, at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground (PTI)

Eight years after his last appearance for India, Nair roared back to the Indian Test team on the back of a record Ranji Trophy season. He instantly vindicated the selection with a double century in the India A tour game that preceded the series, but his redemption song fell flat in the three appearances he made, scoring just 131 runs in six innings at 21.83, with not a single half-century knock.

India eventually ran out of patience and dropped Nair for the Test match in Manchester. Sudharsan returned to the XI after being dropped from the XI following the series opener in Leeds last month. The left-hander had scored 0 and 30 in the Headingley game, before he was benched as India made strategic changes to their XI following the five-wicket defeat.

Speaking to JioStar, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar recalled Nair's viral “give me one more chance” tweet in December 2022, saying that cricket did give him an opportunity to prove his worth, but he failed to grab it with both hands.

“It was an emotional story where he said, 'Cricket, give me another chance'. Cricket gave him another chance. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to catch it. And, you know, we have Sai Sudarshan coming back. So that was the story. Good to see Sai Sudarshan back, because I thought he should have played the second test as well,” he said.

It is now to be seen if India does retain Nair for the next Test series, which will be played at home against the West Indies, scheduled for October 2 and October 10, 2025 in Ahmedabad and Kolkata respectively.

England opt to bowl in Manchester

For the fourth time in a row, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and he opted to bowl first in Manchester. However, no team has ever won a Test match after opting to bowl first at Old Trafford - 3 lost and eight draws. While India have never won a Test match at this venue. In their nine attempts in history, four ended in a defeat and five in draws.