Former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer harshly criticized batsman Karun Nair for his consecutive poor performances in the ongoing five-match Test series against England. After an eight-year break, Karun Nair returned to the Indian team but has failed to make a significant impact in the first three matches.
He has managed only 131 runs so far, with a highest score of 40. India currently trail 1-2 in the series, and doubts are growing over Karun Nair place in the playing XI for the fourth Test, scheduled to begin on July 23.
Criticism of Karun Nair’s Performance and Team Selection Insights
Engineer criticized Karun Nair for his mediocre performances, emphasizing that a batter at the No. 3 position is expected to score big. He said, “Karun Nair has been getting brilliant 20s and 30s. He’s scored beautiful 30 runs, beautiful cover drives and all that. But a beautiful 30 is not expected from a No. 3. You’ve got to get a not-so-beautiful 100. You need runs on the board. You need bigger. The expectation should be much higher,” he told the Times of India.
Engineer also suggested giving young player Sai Sudharsan another opportunity in the team.
“We should pick the best XI. I haven’t seen much of Sai Sudharsan. You’ve got to pick the best player for the time being. Who’s going to give you maximum? You are playing for your country. Your reputation is at stake. So, I would say, forget the age. If he’s good, play him to win this Test match,” he added.
Meanwhile, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate addressed concerns about Karun Nair’s position, expressing confidence in the team despite recent losses. He noted the key issue was losing wickets rapidly during critical moments, saying,
“That might be counter-intuitive when you’re 2-1 down in the series. But we feel like the guys have been excellent for large parts of the series. The repetition of losing lots of wickets in a very short space of time has obviously been the key feature of the two losses.
“Probably both times in Headingley and obviously overnight and first thing in the morning at Lord’s, we feel cost us the game was losing six wickets for 40 again. But if you look at it individually, if you look at the run tally of all the batters they’re all batting nicely,” he said. “Even someone like Karun, we feel his rhythm is good, his tempo is good. We want more runs from the three. But the message is mainly, let’s really focus on what we’ve done well and tidy up the little things that have cost us results, essentially,” Ryan ten Doeschate added.
