Karun Nair 'spent hours' preparing for England series during IPL 2025 as DC coach makes revelation after Oval rescue act

Karun Nair played a crucial knock, not just in terms of India's innings, but potentially for his Test career, too.

Karun Nair stood firm on a spicy Oval surface to script a gritty, potentially career-saving half-century on the opening day of the fifth and final Test against England. Returning to the Indian XI after being left out for the fourth Test, Nair weathered the seaming conditions and a mid-innings collapse to remain unbeaten on 52 at stumps, guiding India to 204/6 on a rain-hit Day 1.

London: India's Karun Nair plays a shot during the first day of the fifth Test cricket match between India and England, at The Oval (PTI)

As praise poured in from various quarters, former England skipper and Delhi Capitals batting coach Kevin Pietersen acknowledged Nair; the duo worked together during the IPL earlier this year. Pietersen revealed Nair spent considerable time discussing batting in English conditions with him as part of preparations for the Test series during IPL 2025.

“So happy for Karun and how he’s stabilised India’s batting yesterday. He’s a tremendously hard worker on his game and we spent many hours talking about batting in England during the IPL.

I’m hoping he gets a wonderful 100 today!” Pietersen posted on X.

The association between the two began earlier this year when Delhi Capitals bought Nair ahead of the 2025 IPL season before Pietersen came on board as the franchise’s batting coach. Their conversations, it appears, have paid off, with Nair’s calm, collected approach at The Oval showcasing a temperament England themselves once feared.

Nair had a frustrating start to the series on his return to Test cricket after 8 years, with the batter failing to convert strong starts on almost all occasions. On Thursday, however, the batter soaked in pressure to score his first fifty-plus score of the series; he was a composed presence against the movement off the pitch and offered a much-needed backbone to India’s innings alongside Washington Sundar, who remained unbeaten on 19.

India's frustrating outing

Earlier in the day, India had struggled on the greenest pitch of the series, losing both openers cheaply. Shubman Gill looked fluent until a mix-up led to a self-inflicted run-out. Gill, however, broke Sunil Gavaskar’s long-standing record for most runs by an Indian captain in a Test series with his 733-run tally. He further has a chance to surpass Gavaskar's Indian record for most runs in a single Test series (774), with an innings remaining in the game.

Sai Sudharsan (38) showed promise before falling late in the day, while Ravindra Jadeja perished to Josh Tongue’s seam movement. Chris Woakes, who removed KL Rahul earlier, suffered a shoulder injury late in the day and is doubtful for the remainder of the Test.