He last donned the Indian whites back in 2017.
Former India spinner Anil Kumble has opined that Karun Nair should play at No.4 in the Tests after star batter Virat Kohli’s retirement from the format. He felt that India would require at least one experienced batter in their upcoming Test tour of England.
“Karun deserves to come back into the Indian team with the kind of domestic run he has had. So perhaps he could be the No.4 for India because I feel, you need a bit of experience,” he stated to ESPN Cricinfo.
After the sudden retirements of skipper Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli, the red-ball squad of India is full of young players. According to him, they need to have a player who has prior experience of playing red-ball cricket in England.
Though the batter has turned 33, he has never really had plenty of chances to prove his abilities in the international circuit. Despite his triple-century at home against England in 2016, Nair was snubbed from the Test squad afterward.
“You need someone in England who has been there and done that. He has played County cricket, so he knows the conditions. Karun may be on the other side of 30, but he is still young. If he gets an opportunity, there will be a lot more hope for youngsters to play first-class cricket. If the sheer performance in domestic cricket doesn’t get recognised, it becomes a bit of a challenge,” stressed the former spinner.
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The Karnataka batter has recently had a smashing domestic season. He has put up 863 runs for Vidarbha in their title-winning campaign in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25. He also become Vidarbha’s second-highest run-getter of this season, behind Yash Rathod.
Previously, he has scored 374 runs in six Test matches at an impressive average of 62.33. Though, all of his red-ball matches so far have been played at home. Nair is yet to play a Test match outside India.
However, he may face strong competition from some of the India batters for the No.4 spot in Tests. Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and Sarfaraz Khan might also be in the race to finalise their position in India’s red-ball squad. The five-match series will kick off on June 20 at Headingley.
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