ENG vs IND 2025: 'Gill missed chance to earn respect' - Mohammad Kaif slams India captain for dropping Karun Nair

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has openly said that skipper Shubman Gill had an opportunity to keep backing Karun Nair for the fourth Test against England. However, by choosing against the same, Kaif believes Gill has not done justice to the traits of an ideal leader.

Nair returned to the Indian setup after eight years but could not script a fairytale comeback. The batter failed to convert his starts in the first three Tests, contributing to India trailing 1-2 in the five-match series. In six innings, Nair scored 131 runs at an average of 21.83, with a top score of 40. As a result, he was dropped from the ongoing fourth match.

“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,” Kaif posted on X an hour into the Day 1's play as India made three changes for the penultimate encounter of the five-match series.

Check Kaif's post here

Mohammad Kaif@MohammadKaif

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.

04:39 PM · Jul 23, 2025

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Gill brings Sudharsan over Nair for Manchester tie

At the toss, the Indian skipper confirmed that Sai Sudharsan would replace Nair for the Manchester Test. India made two additional changes to their playing XI, with Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj coming in for the injured Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy, respectively.

“I was actually confused. Good toss to lose. The way we’ve played in the last three Tests has been outstanding. Some crunch moments we’ve lost, but we’ve won more sessions than them. You need a bit of a break. All three Tests were intense. Looks like a good surface. Nice and hard. There’s some forecast (for rain) around for the four-five days. Three changes: Sai Sudharsan comes in place of Karun. Kamboj and Shardul are in as well for Akash Deep and Reddy who are injured,” Gill said at the toss.

England also made a change, bringing in Liam Dawson to replace Shoaib Bashir, who sustained a hand injury during the third Test at Lord’s.