Former India player Mohammad Kaif said that skipper Shubman Gill had the chance to back Karun Nair and pick him for the 4th India vs England Test but by not going with the decision, he ‘missed a chance to ear respect when it comes to making tough decisions as a leader.’
“Today was Shubman Gill’s chance to back Karun who was down but deserved one more chance. He should have picked Karun Nair. Chance missed to earn the respect when it comes to making tough decisions as a leader,” Kaif posted on X.
Nair’s comeback to the Indian set up after 8 years did not yield a fairytale innings with the batter failing to convert his starts in the first three Tests against England, leading to the visitors falling 1-2 behind in the 5-match series.
Today was Shubman Gill’s chance to back karun who was down but deserved one more chance. He should have picked Karun Nair. Chance missed to earn the respect when it comes to making tough decisions as a leader.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 23, 2025
In 6 innings, the Vidarbha player has 131 runs at an average of 21.83 and a high score of 40 runs. In the first 3 matches he has scored 0, 20, 31, 26, 40 and 14 at a strike rate of 52.61.
On Thursday, Gill elected to replace Nair with Sai Sudharsan in the India lineup against England at Manchester. There were also 2 other changes with Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj coming in for the injured Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy respectively.
“I was actually confused. Good toss to lose. The way we’ve played in the last three Tests has been outstanding. Some crunch moments we’ve lost, but we’ve won more sessions than them. You need a bit of a break. All three Tests were intense. Looks like a good surface. Nice and hard. There’s some forecast (for rain) around for the four-five days. Three changes: Sai Sudharsan comes in place of Karun. Kamboj and Shardul are in as well for Akash Deep and Reddy who are injured,” the skipper said at the toss.
England also made a change with Liam Dawson replacing fellow spinner Shoaib Bashir, who suffered a hand injury in the third Test at the Lord’s.
