“I don’t know how long India will persist with him” - Sanjay Manjrekar reveals India’s biggest worry after Lord’s Test defeat

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has opened up on India’s No.3 batter Karun Nair not converting his starts to bigger knocks, as the Karnataka batter failed to live up to the expectations after making his Test comeback with an eight-year gap.

While Nair started off the Leeds Test, batting at No.6, with the scores of 0 & 20, he was later promoted to No.3 in the Birmingham Test. However, he could score 31 & 26 in both innings, failing to convert to bigger scores.

Moreover, in the Lord's Test, when there were a lot of expectations from the batter, Nair could score only 40 & 14 runs in both innings. With Sai Sudharsan warming the bench, India might think of their options before the start of the fourth Test.

"[Yashasvi] Jaiswal clearly played a poor shot. You could see that his mind was pre-programmed to take on Jofra Archer with the short ball. Had he just gone with the line and hit him over point, it would have been a better option. Karun Nair, I believe has some issues, and I don't know how long India will persist with him,” Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.

"Shubman Gill, I completely connect his performance in the second innings, where he looked really tentative and missed four deliveries in the channel, with the kind of reception that he got at the crease. So, he might be working on that," he added.

"These guys will take all this to heart because they have come here with tremendous confidence, believing that they can beat England, the way they have batted. KL Rahul as well wasn't able to carry on. Rishabh Pant got a beauty, but they'll all be digging deep and looking to get better. That is how they think,” he concluded.

Team India will next lock horns with England in the fourth Test of the five-match series, starting on Wednesday, July 23 at the Old Trafford in Manchester.

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