Irfan Pathan rates Karun Nair’s performance on England tour, says batter didn’t capitalise on his opportunities

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan gave a rating of four out of 10 to Karun Nair’s performances on the England tour, stating that the batter didn’t capitalise on his opportunities. Nair failed to grab his chances in the first three Test matches of the tour, managing only 131 runs at an average of 21.83.

The right-hander was then dropped from the fourth Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester. The 33-year-old got another chance in the fifth Test at the Oval and scored a crucial knock of 57 runs in the first innings on a difficult track. But Nair was dismissed cheaply after scoring 17 runs in the second innings.

Nair scored 205 runs in four Test matches he played in the Anderson-Tendulkar series at an average of 25.62. Pathan reckons Nair could have won the Lord’s game for India when the visitors had to chase 193 but fell short by 22 runs.

Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “Karun Nair gets four out of ten. Why? He didn’t look particularly poor throughout the series. He kept getting starts consistently but managed only one half-century. He got plenty of opportunities. Cricket definitely gave him a second chance, but he couldn’t capitalise on it the way he should have. Especially in the Lord’s Test, he had a real chance to win the match for India but couldn’t do it.”

Nair was getting off to starts in the series but could not convert them into substantial scores.

“Other than that, it often seemed like he was playing well, building up nicely, and then suddenly, he’d play a loose shot and get out. At the Oval, when the bouncer was used against him, he looked a bit shaken and seemed more unsettled and uncomfortable. So, he gets four points,” he added.

On the other hand, Pathan gave a rating of five out of ten to rookie batter Sai Sudharsan. The left-hander scored 140 runs in three Test matches at an average of 23.33 against England.

Pathan said, “Sai Sudharsan gets five out of ten. He came across as a player who, with a bit of work on a few aspects, clearly has a lot of cricketing potential. He could have made better use of the opportunities he got but wasn’t quite able to do so. However, I do believe that if he had played all the matches, things might have turned out differently, but it’s not that easy.”

“When you go overseas, you get a chance, your team loses, then you get dropped, and later you’re brought back. Even selecting a playing XI is a tough job. But as a player, he’ll definitely feel that if he gets regular opportunities going forward, he can achieve a lot. I’ve always liked left-handed batters at the top of the order, and even in the last match when he got a chance, he scored a half-century and batted well. He has the ability to do well. That’s why he gets five out of ten,” he added.

India will next take part in the Asia Cup.