ENG vs IND 2025: 'Cricket gave Karun Nair another chance, but he couldn't catch it' - Sanjay Manjrekar
“We think Karun is batting well. The first match, he didn’t really play at his number (batted at 6). It’s difficult when a player is making a comeback in a series like this, you know,” Gill had said.
2 Min Read
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar admitted that it is unlucky that Karun Nair could not grab the second opportunity in international cricket. Nair in the opening Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy scored 0 and 20, playing at No. 6. He was then moved up to No. 3, replacing Sai Sudharsan and able to put up only scores of 31, 26, 40 and 14 in the next two Tests.
Manjrekar referred to Nair’s viral tweet ‘give me one more chance’ posted in December 2022, and noted that the batter could not capitalize despite being given chances in the England tour. As a result of this, the top-order batter was dropped ahead of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Manchester and Sudharsan was once again called to the Playing XI.
“It was an emotional story where he said, ‘Cricket, give me another chance’. Cricket gave him another chance. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to catch it. And, you know, we have Sai Sudarshan coming back. So that was the story. Good to see Sai Sudarshan back, because I thought he should have played the second test as well,” said Manjrekar on air during the fourth Test.
Shubman Gill hints another chance for Karun Nair in 4th Test
Unfortunately, Karun hasn't scored big runs: Shubman Gill
The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the game did not click for Nair, even though there is nothing wrong with his batting in the series.Earlier, it had looked like the 33-year-old would be retained in the XI, as Indian captain Shubman Gill defended the poor outings of Nair during the pre-match press conference.
“We think Karun is batting well. In the first match, he didn’t really play at his number (batted at 6). It’s difficult when a player is making a comeback in a series like this. But I don’t think there’s been any issue with his batting. Sometimes it’s also about getting that click. Once you’re able to make your 50, then you’re able to get back into your zone and get some big runs. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened for him so far,” Gill had said during the pre-match press conference.
Karnataka welcomes Nair back
The Jodhpur-born is set to return to his home Karnataka for the next domestic season after a three-year gap. He represented Vidarbha and played a major role in their victory run in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season, scoring 863 runs at an average of 53. Now, he has been granted a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Vidarbha Cricket Association to represent Karnataka in the upcoming season.
Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:
Download Our App