The 33-year-old batsman Karun Nair has been picked as the ideal No.3 batsman for India’s Test team by the former wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta.
Deep Dasgupta believes that the Gautam Gambhir-led team management should look to promote Karun Nair to No.3, a spot where he has scored most of his runs in red-ball cricket.
Karun Nair fails in his comeback game
Nair had a forgettable return to the Indian Test team after eight years against the England National Cricket Team in the first match at Headingley in Leeds.
The right-handed batsman staged his comeback to the Indian team on the back of a sensational run in domestic cricket, where he scored runs consistently.
Also, looked in a solid touch in an unofficial Test match against England Lions, slamming a blazing double ton, and booked a place in the India playing XI.
He was slotted at No.6 after returning to the team after 3006 days (8 years 86 days), and in the first innings, he was dismissed by Ben Stokes for a 4-ball duck.
In the second innings, he built a crucial 46-run stand with KL Rahul, before falling to Chris Woakes for a 54-ball 20. The batter was devastated after his horror show in the Test series opener and would be hoping for better outings in the upcoming matches.
I would love to see Kuldeep there – Deep Dasgupta
The second Test match between India and England will be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham from July 2 to 6. And Deep Dasgupta wants India to play the left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav in that game. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, he said:
“Obviously, you don’t want to make too many changes after the first game. But, this is a very young side, so you’ve got to get the combination right. Birmingham is usually a batting-friendly venue.
“I would love to see Kuldeep there. The advantage of having a top five among runs is you’re not too worried about contributions from your No. 8 with the bat.”
You might want to look at Karun Nair at No. 3 – Deep Dasgupta
Deep Dasgupta further said that Karun Nair should be moved up to No.3, replacing Sai Sudharsan, and Nitish Kumar Reddy could be drafted in at No.6. He said:
“Karun Nair has got most of his runs in first-class cricket and all at No. 3. Also, he batted for India A against Lions at No. 3. So you might want to look at Karun Nair at No. 3. That opens up a scape for someone like Nitish [Reddy] at No. 6 who, if required, can give you a few overs of seam-up.”
The former India wicketkeeper-batsman also admitted that dropping Sai Sudharsan, who returned with scores of 0 and 30 while batting at No.3 on his debut, would be a tough call, but the team management needs to have an honest conversation with him. He said:
“Sai, I will have chat with him and say, this is not a reflection of what happened in the first Test, but a combination thing. So, that conversation becomes very important – how you put it across.”
