India and England began their five-Test series at Headingley and all eyes were on the game and one emotional comeback. Karun Nair walked onto the field in whites for the first time in 3,008 days, since March 2017. He himself was surprised, he had openly asked for another chance in cricket. After being dropped from the Karnataka team in 2022, he posted a heartfelt message on social media asking cricket for one more chance. On Friday, he got that chance.
Nair’s comeback is the fourth longest gap between Tests for an Indian player, 77 matches in between. Only Jaydev Unadkat, Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel have longer gaps.
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After struggling with form and being left out of the Karnataka Ranji team, Nair got a fresh start with Vidarbha in the 2024-25 season. His performances couldn’t be ignored and he got a recall in the Test team.
Players to miss most number of test matches for India after debut:
| Matches Missed | Player | Test Span | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 118 | Jaydev Unadkat | 2010–2022 | |
| 87 | Dinesh Karthik | 2010–2018 | |
| 83 | Parthiv Patel | 2008–2016 | |
| 77 | Karun Nair | 2017–2025 | \ends today |
| 56 | Abhinav Mukund | 2011–2017 |
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India made some bold decisions for this opener, including giving debuts to Sai Sudharsan and bringing back Shardul Thakur as a seam-bowling all-rounder. Ravindra Jadeja is the only spinner in the team and the pace attack has three main seamers. England won the toss and chose to bowl first to make the most of the seamer-friendly conditions at Headingley on Day 1, with Chris Woakes back in the team and Brydon Carse making his home debut.
