Deep Dasgupta says it won’t be easy for Karun Nair to get regular chances after underwhelming England tour

Former Indian wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta reckons it won’t be easy for Karun Nair to get regular chances in India’s Test team. Nair could not grab his opportunity in the first three Test matches, aggregating 131 runs at an average of 21.83.

Nair was dropped from the playing XI in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Manchester; however, he made a comeback in the fifth Test at the Oval. The right-hander returned with scores of 57 and 17 in the series decider.

Overall, Nair scored 205 runs in four Test matches at an average of 25.62 against England and thus could not grab his chances. Dasgupta said Nair didn’t move his feet enough on the England tour.

Dasgupta said on TOI, “His feet don’t move enough to be successful at No. 3. In that case, the options become limited and when it’s a choice for Nos. 6 or 7, there are too many options. It’s not just Shreyas and Sarfaraz. Even Axar Patel or Nitish Reddy can come into the picture depending on the nature of the pitches India are playing on. We have a core in place and the team should now be built with an eye on the difficult away series in future.”

On the other hand, former Indian batter Devang Gandhi noted that Nair’s front foot was in the air when the bowler was releasing the ball, which is a technical flaw in his batting.

“At the point of release of the ball from the bowler’s hand, Karun’s front foot is still in the air. That makes him vulnerable against the short ball, as we found out in this series. There’s no doubt he has scored some tough runs, but it has to be taken into account that he couldn’t convert the starts that he got,” said Gandhi (via the aforementioned source).

Nair had a dream run in the domestic circuit but he would be a tad disappointed with his performances in England.