R Ashwin Slams Team India Management Over Karun Nair’s Exclusion from Manchester Test

The management of Team India has come under fire from legendary Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin for making Karun Nair play a different role, which he believes would have affected his attitude after the batter was removed from the starting lineup. With India behind 2-1 in the five-match series, Karun was left out of the starting lineup for Wednesday's start of the fourth Test match against England in Manchester.

After more than eight years, the right-handed hitter returned to international cricket. The 33-year-old could only muster 131 runs from six innings at an average of 21.83, so his comeback wasn't particularly noteworthy. In the first Test, Nair batted at number six and scored between 0 and 20. He moved up to No. 3 in the last two games, but the change in batting position did not affect his luck. After that, he was left out of the starting lineup for the third Test match in Manchester, which began on Wednesday, July 23.

R Ashwin Drops his Opinion:

Nair was replaced at No. 3 by top-order batsman Sai Sudharsan after the Chennai player struck 61 on Day 1 by head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill. Sai Sudharsan took his second test. In the first Test at Headingley, he made his debut at number three but was dropped after receiving scores of 0 and 30, while Nair was moved up from number six to number three. Nair primarily bats at number five.

According to former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Nair has never played at number three; therefore, elevating him to the crucial position might not have had a positive impact on his attitude. He did, however, commend young player Sai Sudharsan, who replaced Nair in the lineup and struck a determined half-century on Day 1.

In his YouTube channel, R Ashwin said, "Karun Nair has never played at No. 3. Now, by playing him at No. 3, you have put his mindset in a block. But credit to Sai Sudharsan because it is not easy being a youngster after getting dropped and with India 1-2 behind in the series to come into the fourth Test and respond the way he did. I think he has to own that No. 3 for the near future to be able to give a bit of solidity for the team."

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