Karun Nair, on Friday (May 30), sent a timely message to the Indian team management by scoring a brilliant century for India A in the ongoing 1st unofficial Test against England Lions.
With Virat Kohli announcing his retirement from the longest format of the game, a slot has opened up in the Indian Test team’s middle order. Karun Nair is a strong contender to replace the former India skipper in the India playing eleven.
Ajit Agarkar categorically mentioned an experienced player will fill Virat Kohli’s void
He recently earned a recall from the selectors for the upcoming five-match Test series against England. Karun last played a Test for Team India way back in 2017 and earned the recall after a stellar campaign in the last Ranji Trophy season.
He finished the tournament as the fourth-highest run-scorer and played a huge role in Vidarbha’s triumphant campaign. In 9 games, Karun Nair smashed 863 runs with the help of 4 centuries and 2 fifties. The 33-year-old had an average of more than 53 during the competition.
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Karun Nair scores a century for India A
Karun has strengthened his case by scoring an impressive century for India A on day one of the four-day game against England Lions. He completed his century in 155 balls and was unbeaten on 114 runs at the time of writing this report.
Asked to bat first, India A were off to a poor start. Captain Abhimanyu Easwaran and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal failed to give the team a good start. Easwaran was the first to depart after being dismissed by Josh Hull for 8 runs. Jaiswal got the start but could not convert it into a big score and was out for 24 runs to leave India A reeling at 51/2.
Sarfaraz Khan also comes close to a ton
However, the England Lions could not make more early inroads as Karun Nair and Sarfaraz Khan put India in a strong position by adding 181 runs for the third wicket. Hull broke the partnership by dismissing Sarfaraz for 92 runs.
India A were on 258/3 at the time of writing this report. Nair was on 114 while Dhruv Jurel was unbeaten on 8.
