The visiting side, India, took the pitch for the first Test of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, with Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair in the playing XI. However, due to a lack of scoring in both innings, Sudharsan was dropped, and Nair, who batted at No. 6 at first, was elevated to No. 3 in the absence of the leaving batter.
However, the move has failed miserably, as Karun Nair’s form has deteriorated, with no fifty-plus scores in his first six innings.
Former cricketer and India hitter Sanjay Manjrekar believed that India should never have chosen Nair to bat at the top of the order. With the Karnataka batter’s form slipping, Manjrekar believes Sudharsan should return to bat at number one, since he demonstrated promise with 30 runs in the Headingley match.
“Sai Sudharsan was always my number three after the first test match; he showed promise with 30 runs.” And when you have flat wickets and one of England’s weaker bowling attacks, you want to play a young guy, thus Karun Nair at number three. I didn’t agree with maybe the team management would just want to prove a point that we were backing the correct horse and give him one more match, that’s what happens with team management, but I’d want to see Sai Sudharsan at no. 3,” Manjrekar
India marred with injuries
The Shubman Gill-led side, which is currently 1-2 in the series after three games, is facing multiple setbacks. Young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remainder of the series due to an injury. In addition to this, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who is yet to make his Test debut, has also been declared unfit to play the fourth game, which starts July 23 in Manchester.
The tourists have called up Anshul Kamboj for the rest of the tour On the other hand, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is good to go, but not fit enough to keep the wickets, following a finger injury in the Lord’s tie. As a result, it is going to be a big headache for captain Shubman Gill to pick his best men for the upcoming games with the series now on the line.
