"There will be a lot of pressure on him" - Former India player delivers verdict on Karun Nair's selection for ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

Former India spinner Murali Kartik opened up on batter Karun Nair's chances in the fourth Test against England. The fourth Test begins Wednesday, July 23, at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Karun Nair made a comeback after eight long years. While he has shown promise, the numbers so far have not justified the same. Kartik feels there will be immense pressure on the 33-year-old as he hasn't made the most of his chances.

"Karun Nair banged and broke the door, did everything, and made a comeback. That is why he has been in the 11 as well. But from No.5 or 6, he was shifted up to No.3 as he has experience. Given the number of runs he scored, he got a chance because of that. But has he grabbed the opportunity so far? I don't think so, and there will be a lot of pressure on him," he said. (via Cricbuzz)

On whether Nair should get an opportunity in the next game, Murali Kartik feels that India should look at continuity in the 11. However, he added that the player should also deliver, given his experience.

"Will India look at continuity? They should. Because if you are playing any player with some logic, you want the player to prove that right. But it is also important to see if the player has converted the runs based on the experience. Has he done it? maybe not. So it will be interesting to see what Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill think about him for the next game."

The right-hander last played a Test in 2017 before the England series. He smashed 863 runs in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season at an average of 53.93 with four hundreds and two half-centuries. His phenomenal form helped him return to the Test side.

Sai Sudharsan made his debut in the opening Test but was dropped thereafter. With the left-hander along with Abhimanyu Easwaran in the mix, it remains to be seen if Karun Nair will get another opportunity.

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Karun Nair has failed to convert his domestic form so far in the series

Karun Nair has not quite replicated his stellar domestic form in the England Tests so far. In the opening game at Headingley, he got out for a duck in the first innings and made just 20 in the second.

In the second Test at Birmingham, the right-hander made 31 off 50 balls in the first innings and 26 off 46 deliveries in the second. The recently concluded third Test saw him score 40 in the first innings and 14 in the second.

Despite getting a few starts, the 33-year-old has failed to convert them into big scores. Overall, he has scored just 131 runs from six innings at an average of 21.83. Given his experience and domestic form, the performance has not been as expected.

In the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Karun Nair has not established himself as a reliable batter so far this series. Should he play the fourth Test, he will be desperate to get a big score.

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Edited by Rishab Vm