Why is Karun Nair not playing today in ENG vs IND 4th Test at Manchester?

Many expected that the Indian management might have given a chance to Karun Nair at number three in the batting order. But the Indian captain, Shubman Gill, revealed that they decided to leave the Karnataka batter out of the side and got back Sai Sudharsan at the spot, who didn’t take part in the series after he failed in the opening Leeds Test.

It had been a tough three weeks for Nair, who batted at number three for India in the last four innings after staying at number six for the first red-ball contest in Headingley. The right-handed batter has overall clubbed 131 runs in six innings at an average of just under 22, which is never a positive sign for any individual.

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At number three, Nair has smacked 111 runs at an average of below 28. There were issues with the batter’s approach. On most occasions, he saw off the new ball threat from the England side before getting out after getting set, which never allows the middle order to relax. For any side, number three is a defining position where the batters calm down the atmosphere in the dressing room.

Why is Karun Nair missing today in ENG vs IND 4th Test at Manchester?

In the second innings of the second Lord’s Test, it was an error of judgement from Nair, who didn’t even walk for the umpire to raise his finger. It was a nip-backer from Brydon Carse, and the batter didn’t judge the line right and shouldered his arm. The ball, after pitching, stuck on the leg. The Vidarbha batter did have a word with his partner, KL Rahul, before heading to the dressing room.

It was around the same case in the first innings. That time, it was a classic dismissal from Ben Stokes, who went wide of the crease and brought the ball back at the batter with the angle. After pitching, it bounced awkwardly and took the shoulder of the blade and ended up in the hands of the slip fielder, Joe Root.

Apart from Nair, India made two more changes for Manchester. Both injured players, Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy, made way for debutant Anshul Kamboj and Shardul Thakur. Losing another toss, the visitors were put into bat first under grey skies.