In the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval, the Indian team skipper Shubman Gill confirmed that Karun Nair will be playing in place of Shardul Thakur, and reasserted the team’s continued adherence to their plan of using eight recognised batters. During the course of the five-match Test series, India has followed extra batting depth at No. 8 consistently. Thus, with Rishabh Pant ruled out and Nitish Kumar Reddy not available, Karun Nair’s comeback was almost inevitable.
Over six innings, the experienced batter had failed to deliver an impactful knock, which eventually saw him being omitted for the Old Trafford Test – a call which was widely regarded as the final nail in the coffin of his international career. Nevertheless, if there’s anything Nair has consistently proven time and again, it is his endurance.
Back in the XI for the crucial fifth Test, Karun Nair not only made a comeback but also carried India’s hope of staying longer in the game. He stayed unbeaten on 52 at the end of Day 1 at The Oval, and posted his first Test fifty-plus score since that incredible unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai back in 2016. And he did so under the most difficult of conditions.
The Oval produced a tough, green pitch for the visitors, and made it even more difficult under overcast skies and constant movement off the seam. In conditions where most of the batsmen were finding it difficult to get in, Nair was unfazed. Having tried to bat at different places in the order before, it looked like No. 5 finally worked for him.
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After the untimely run-out of Shubman Gill, Nair dug deep and made a gritty, unbeaten 52 off 98 balls, with seven fours. The effort took India to 204 for six at stumps. Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik lauded the innings, saying that Nair’s gritty effort under seaming conditions was a testimony to the fact that his international career was not done yet.
“Well played, Karun Nair. That’s a high-quality fifty in real tough conditions. Karun Nair’s career is well and truly back. If he hadn’t played this Test, then the team management could well have looked beyond him,” Karthik said on commentary.
