India National Cricket Team vs England Cricket Team Match Scorecard: Karun Nair has been dropped from India’s playing XI for the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford, which began on Wednesday. The decision comes after the veteran batter failed to make a significant impact in the first three matches of the series. The 33-year-old had returned to the Indian Test squad after nearly eight years following a strong domestic season. But he could not convert starts into big scores. Nair managed only 131 runs across six innings at an average below 22. He was promoted to No. 3 in the last two Tests but still failed to deliver.
India skipper Shubman Gill confirmed at the toss that Sai Sudharsan has replaced Nair in the XI. “Three changes. Sai comes in for Karun. Kamboj and Shardul in place of Akash Deep and Reddy who are injured,” Gill said.
Sudharsan played the opening Test at Leeds and scored 0 and 30. He now gets another chance as India aims to level the five-match series. England currently lead 2-1.
India must win the Manchester Test to avoid another series defeat in England. Their last Test series win on English soil came in 2007 under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy.
Playing XIs:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Anshul Kamboj
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Arche
