Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair were both in the playing XI for the opening Test as the visiting team, India, took the pitch in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. However, Nair, who had batted at No. 6 initially, was moved to bat at No. 3 in lieu of the leaving batter when Sai Sudharsan was dropped for a lacklustre showing in both innings.
The change hasn’t worked at all, though, as Nair’s form has declined and he hasn’t even reached fifty runs in the six innings that he has played. Sanjay Manjrekar, a former cricket player and current Indian batsman, believed that Nair should never have been selected by India to bat first. Manjrekar believes that Sudharsan should return and bat at the top due to a decline in the Karnataka batter’s form.
Sai Sudharsan 30 runs in the Headingley match showed promise.
After the first test match, Sai Sudharsan was always my number three pick because of his promising 30 runs. Additionally, you want to use a young player, thus Karun Nair at number three, when you have flat grounds and one of England’s weaker bowling attacks. Although I disagreed, Manjrekar said ESPNcricinfo, “I would like to see Sai Sudharsan at number three. Perhaps the team management was just trying to show that we were supporting the right horse and give him one more match.”
India was plagued with injuries.
After three games, the Shubman Gill-led team is 1-2 in the series and is suffering from a number of setbacks. Due to an injury, young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy will miss the rest of the series. Arshdeep Singh, a left-arm pacer who has not yet made his Test debut, has also been ruled ineligible to participate in the fourth match, which begins in Manchester on July 23.
Anshul Kamboj has been called up by the visitors for the remainder of the tour. However, after suffering a finger injury during the Lord’s match, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is healthy but not yet able to hold the wickets. With the series now on the line, captain Shubman Gill will have a difficult time selecting his best players for the forthcoming matches.
India
