Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif has expressed disappointment with captain Shubman Gill for dropping Karun Nair and pick Sai Sudharsan in the playing XI for the ongoing Manchester Test.
Kaif felt that the captain should have backed Karun and that by not playing him, Gill missed a golden opportunity to earn respect as a leader. He also added that the Indian skipper needed to take tougher calls for such a crucial match.
“Today was Shubman Gill’s chance to back Karun, who was down but deserved one more chance. He should have picked Karun Nair. Chance missed to earn the respect when it comes to making tough decisions as a leader,” Kaif tweeted on ‘X’.
The Indian team made three changes for the Manchester Test. Two of them were forced, as Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep were ruled out due to injuries. Shardul Thakur came in for Reddy, and Anshul Kamboj was handed a debut in place of Akash Deep.
However, the third change raised eyebrows. Karun, who had played all three previous Tests in the series, was dropped, and Sai Sudharsan was given another opportunity at the No. 3 position. Sudharsan, who made his Test debut in the first match at Leeds, was dismissed for a duck in the first innings and scored 30 in the second—failing to make a significant impact.
Karun Nair, on the other hand, got several starts but failed to convert any of them into a half-century across his six innings on this England tour so far. He has only 131 runs to his name in six innings, at an average of
21.83.
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