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‘Shubman Gill lost the chance to earn respect’: Cold Karun Nair snub leaves India captain under fire
Mohammad Kaif questioned Shubman Gill’s call to drop Karun Nair for the must-win Manchester Test as the latter's redemption hopes faded.
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif disagreed with Shubman Gill's decision to drop Karun Nair for the must-win fourth Test against England in Manchester. Sai Sudharsan replaced Nair in the playing XI as India made a total of three changes for the match. The two others were - debutant Anshul Kamboj and all-rounder Shardul Thakur for injured Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep.
The England tour was supposed to be about Nair's redemption, having earned a spot in the Indian squad after eight long years. But the veteran batter managed just 131 runs in six innings thus far, at 21.83, with not a single half-century knock.
India vs England Live Updates 4th Test
A loss at Lord's added significant weightage to the game in Manchester, a venue where India have never won a Test match. With the series on the line, the team management decided to drop Nair and bring back Sudharsan, who only played in the series opener in Leeds last month. The left-handed batter scored 0 and 30 in that game.
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Taking to social media, Kaif felt the Manchester Test was a perfect opportunity for Gill to take that "tough call" and back Nair for "one more chance", which he thought he "deserved." However, with the senior batter getting ignored for the match, Kaif lost respect for Gill.
“Today was Shubman Gill's chance to back karun who was down but deserved one more chance. He should have picked Karun Nair. Chance missed to earn the respect when it comes to making tough decisions as a leader,” he wrote.
India make steady start in 4th Test
For the fourth time in a row, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss, and he opted to bowl first at Old Trafford under the gloomy Manchester sky.
However, put to bat first, the Indian openers made a steady start as England fast bowlers bowled haywire. The pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul stitched up a promising 77-run opening stand, en route to which the latter amassed 1000 runs on English soil, becoming the fifth Indian batter to do so.
