India is playing England in a 5 match Test series. Before the series started, Karun Nair’s comeback was highly anticipated. The 33 year old came back after a good domestic season and everyone expected him to do well for India.
He hasn’t made an impact in his 4 innings so far and now there are calls for him to be dropped for the next Test. He batted at 6 in the first game and then at 3 in the second. He has had decent starts in almost every innings but the competition for places is tough and his inability to convert those starts might cost him his spot.
So if the team decides to drop him, who could replace him? Let’s see.
1. Sai Sudharsan
Sai Sudharsan batted at 3 in the first game and scored 30 in the second innings after a duck in the first. He is being considered as a long term 3 and so the team might try him again for the third Test.
Sudharsan is a natural top order batsman with a technique suitable for 3. He has been in good form and since he was trusted to bat at 3 in the first Test, he seems like a strong contender to regain that spot.
2. Abhimanyu Easwaran
The Bengal opener has been on many Test tours but hasn’t got his first international cap yet. He has scored runs in domestic cricket for a long time and recently scored 80 off 92 balls for India A against England Lions at 3.
If the team decides to replace Karun Nair with another experienced domestic player, Abhimanyu Easwaran might get his chance. India has already tried Sai Sudharsan in the first game and this time they might finally give Abhimanyu Easwaran a chance he has earned.
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3. Dhruv Jurel
Dhruv Jurel, a wicketkeeper batsman, is another good option to replace Karun Nair. He has scored runs in most of the games for India and has shown good technique against a moving ball.But Dhruv Jurel has mostly batted in the lower middle order in Test cricket. So India might have to tinker with the batting order to accommodate him and that could mean changes to the set positions of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. So including Dhruv Jurel will mean changes to the playing 11.
