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Karun Nair 'was in two minds' at Lord's but Gautam Gambhir 'will' play him again in 4th Test: 'It's not easy...'
Despite a challenging India comeback marked by modest scores in the first 3 Tests, the Vidharbha coach expressed confidence in Nair’s resilience and experience.
Karun Nair, currently facing scrutiny after a string of disappointing performances in the ongoing Test series against England, has found support from his domestic coach, Usman Ghani of Vidarbha. Nair’s recent run in the Test series has been below expectations, with the right-hander posting scores of 0, 20, 31, 26, 40, and 14 across three matches - a total of just 131 runs, giving him a batting average of less than 22 for the series.
Nair made a comeback into the Indian Test side after proving his mettle in the 2024–25 domestic season. He piled up 863 runs in nine Ranji Trophy games for Vidarbha at an average of nearly 54, including a century in the final against Kerala. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he was in sensational touch, smashing 779 runs in just eight innings at a staggering average of 389.50 with five hundreds. Nair also proved his T20 prowess in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 255 runs in six innings at a blistering strike rate of 177—reinforcing his case as a dependable, all-format player.
However, he failed to replicate the same performances on his Test comeback, and time is running out for him rapidly. India is currently trailing 1-2 in the five-match series. Before the start of the series, head coach Gautam Gambhir said they would give Nair enough chances on his comeback to prove himself.
Despite a challenging India comeback marked by modest scores in the first three Tests, Ghani expressed confidence in Nair’s resilience and experience.
“Karun is mentally a very strong guy and that’s a fine trait to have. It’s not easy to make a comeback in the Test team after eight years, but he did it. He has that zeal and grit. It’s just a matter of one good innings for Karun. He is playing well and has got starts. In the first innings of the Lord’s Test, he made a brilliant 40. He needs to build on that to get a bigger score to boost his confidence," Ghani told Mid-Day.
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“Karun Nair has unfortunately got out to…”
Ghani defended Karun Nair's underwhelming England tour, attributing his dismissals to quality bowling rather than poor form. Highlighting the LBW at Lord’s, he felt Nair may have been caught in two minds but praised the quality of his brief innings and backed him to retain his spot for the final two Tests.
“Karun has unfortunately got out to a few very good deliveries [on the England tour]. He got a good ball in the last innings at Lord’s as well, where he left the ball [but was trapped LBW by pacer Brydon Carse]. It’s possible that he may have gone into a defensive mode. He probably was in two minds about whether to leave or play that one. But I believe whatever innings he has played, have been very sweet. I think he will be retained for the remaining two Tests,” he added.
