Team India breaks silence on Karun Nair's omission for Manchester Test: 'When Gill said we'll back him, we meant...'

India defended Karun Nair's Manchester Test omission as Sai Sudharsan replaced him

Four days after Karun Nair was dropped from playing XI for the must-win Test match against England in Manchester, the Indian camp broke their silence on why Sai Sudharsan had replaced him despite getting backing from captain Shubman Gill.

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)

The England tour was supposed to be Nair's redemption series. The 33-year-old had donned the Indian jersey after eight years, having earned a call-up after his record domestic season. However, his redemption tune fell flat, with Nair managing only 133 runs in six innings, with a single half-century score.

Amid speculations on whether Nair ran out of opportunities, Gill came out in the pre-match presser to support the veteran batter, thus ending all the chatter about a possible change in the playing XI for the Old Trafford Test match. However, India eventually dropped the batter for the Test match, making way for Sudharsan to return to the line-up since his debut earlier in the series opener in Leeds.

Speaking to the media after the end of Day 4's play in Manchester, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak discussed the decision to drop Nair. He explained: "Coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill can talk about that. When Gill said we'll back Karun, he would have meant as a batter. He didn't do badly. He got starts."

Sudharsan, who played just one match in the ongoing series, scored a valiant half-century in the first innings in Manchester, before getting dismissed for a golden duck in the second innings.

What remains to be seen is whether India will persist with Karun Nair beyond the ongoing England tour. The senior batter has yet to cement his place in the XI, despite the opportunity that arose following the Test retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in May this year. India's next Test series is at home against the West Indies, starting October 2.

Talking about the match, England sniffed a moment of opportunity to pin India down after Chris Woakes dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sudharsan in successive deliveries in the opening over of their second innings. But the pair of Gill (78 not out) and KL Rahul (87 not out) frustrated the hosts, who ended the day on 174-2 and trailing by 137. With some rain forecast for Sunday, England may run out of time to seal a win that looked so likely earlier in the day.