Sanjay Manjrekar: Former batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that Karun Nair has some genuine issues with his batting and is unsure of how long the Indian team management will persists with him. He added that skipper Shubman Gill and a few of the other senior batters in the team would also be disappointed with how things went wrong in the Lord’s Test.
Sanjay Manjrekar: England beat India by 22 runs in a thrilling Test match at Lord’s on Monday, July 14 to go 2-1 up in the five-match series. Chasing a target of 193, the visitors resumed their second innings on 58-4 and were bowled out for 170 in 74.5 overs. Ravindra Jadeja top-scored with a valiant 61* off 181 balls.
Sanjay Manjrekar: During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar opined that the four wickets India lost on Day 4 of the match swung the closely contested Test match England’s way. He also raised questions over Nair’s place in the team. Looking back at India’s forgettable batting effort on Day 4, Manjrekar said:
Sanjay Manjrekar: “[Yashasvi] Jaiswal clearly played a poor shot. You could see that his mind was pre-programmed to take on Jofra Archer with the short ball. Had he just gone with the line and hit him over point, it would have been a better option. Karun Nair, I believe has some issues, and I don’t how long India will persist with him.
Sanjay Manjrekar: “Shubman Gill, I completely connect his performance in the second innings, where he looked really tentative and missed four deliveries in the channel, with the kind of reception that he got at the crease. So, he might be working on that,” the 60-year-old went on to add.
Karun Nair in Tests
— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) July 13, 2025
1 Innings- 303 runs
Rest 12 Innings- 202 runs
Does he deserve more chances? pic.twitter.com/5UfRxwS1ov
Sanjay Manjrekar: Manjrekar further stated that India would be hugely disappointed with the Lord’s defeat because, despite being a young side, they arrived in England believing they can win the series. He elaborated:
Sanjay Manjrekar: “These guys will take all this to heart because they have come here with tremendous confidence, believing that they can beat England, the way they have batted. KL Rahul as well wasn’t able to carry on. Rishabh Pant got a beauty, but they’ll all be digging deep and looking to get better. That is how they think.”
A determined and well fought innings
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 14, 2025
Took #TeamIndia close
Chin up, Ravindra Jadeja 👍 👍
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/X4xIDiSmBg#ENGvIND | @imjadeja pic.twitter.com/jGpfgHAeNM
Chasing 193, India went from 58-4 to 82-7 in the first session on Day 5. However, Jadeja and the lower order combined to offer commendable resistance and gave England a scare before the hosts sneaked home.
Sanjay Manjrekar: Karun Nair has failed to grab his opportunities in ENG vs IND 2025 Test series
Handed a much awaited Test comeback on the back of some stupendous domestic performances, Nair has failed to grab his opportunities in the ongoing Test series against England. The 33-year-old has got a number of starts, but does not have a single half-century to show for his efforts.
In six innings, the right-handed batter has only managed 131 runs. He registered scores of 0 & 20 in the first Test in Leeds and followed it up with 31 & 26 in Birmingham. Nair scored 40 in the first innings at Lord’s before being dismissed for 14 in the second essay.
