Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Deep Dasgupta said India’s think tank might want to look at Karun Nair at number three position in the second Test match against England. The visitors lost the opening Test of the five-match series by five wickets at Leeds, Headingley on Tuesday.
Nair batted at number six in the series opener but he was dismissed for a duck and managed only 20 runs in the second innings. On the other hand, Sai Sudharsan, who was backed at one down, returned with scores of 0 and 30 on his debut.
Meanwhile, Nair scored 863 runs in nine matches of the Ranji Trophy at an average of 53.93, with the help of four centuries, to earn a recall into India’s Test squad. The right-hander also amassed 779 runs in nine matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy at an average of 389.50 and a strike rate of 124.04, with the help of five hundreds.
Dasgupta also feels India should include Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI.
Deep Dasgupta said on ESPN Cricinfo, “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.”
The former Bengal cricketer added that Nair has savored success in the domestic circuit while batting at number three.
“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.”
“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.”
The second Test match between India and England will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from July 2nd onwards.
