Former India cricketer and wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta believes that Karun Nair should be dropped from the Indian playing XI and replaced by young player B Sai Sudharsan for the last two Test matches against England.
Karun Nair, who returned to the Test team after eight years, has scored only 131 runs in three matches. He is the only top-four batter from either side who hasn’t scored a half-century in the series.
On the other hand, Sai Sudharsan made his Test debut at Leeds but only managed scores of 0 and 30. He was later left out of the team to include Washington Sundar for the matches at Edgbaston and Lord’s.
Speaking on JioHotstar, Dasgupta said,
“If India makes just one change in the playing XI, it should be bringing in Sai Sudharsan for Karun Nair. Karun has got starts but hasn’t converted them into big scores. He also doesn’t look very confident at the crease.”
He added,
“Sai is a young player. If India wants to plan for the future, it’s better to give him a chance now. After this series, India might not play another Test series in England for a long time, so this is the right opportunity to invest in him.”
India is currently behind 1-2 in the five-match series. The fourth Test, led by Shubman Gill, starts on July 23 at Old Trafford, Manchester, and the final Test will be played from July 31 to August 4 at The Oval, London.
