Karun Nair on the brink of axe! Lord’s Test to decide his India future

Former India National Cricket Team opening batsman Aakash Chopra has opined that the Lord's Test against the England National Cricket Team will be a do-or-die match for the senior batsman Karun Nair.

Aakash Chopra feels that the Gautam Gambhir-led Indian team management should give Karun Nair the 'final chance' in the third Test against England before dropping him from the team.

Karun Nair yet to shine in England Tests

The third Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is scheduled to be hosted by Lord's Cricket Ground in London from July 10.

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Nair, who is India's second triple centurion after Virender Sehwag, staged a comeback to the Indian Test team on the back of his consistent performances in domestic cricket.

However, he has not been able to replicate the success at the international level and didn't impress with the bat in the first two Test matches against the England National Cricket Team.

In his comeback match, Nair returned with scores of 0 and 20 at Headingley in Leeds, and in the second Test match at Edgbaston in Birmingham, he showed glimpses of form, but was able to score just 31 and 26 runs respectively.

Also Read: England playing XI for Lord's Test against India announced, Jofra Archer returns

I would say give Karun Nair one more chance for sure - Aakash Chopra

Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that Nair didn't receive fair treatment from the Indian team management during his previous stint, and this shouldn't happen again. Chopra said:

"Will you play Karun Nair or not? Will you keep Nitish Kumar Reddy or not? Now that is a big question. I would say give Karun Nair one more chance for sure, because this is now Karun Nair's final chance. He played earlier, scored a triple century, and then got dropped. It was slightly unfair at that time.

"Then he scored a lot of runs and returned to the team. He asked Cricket to give him a second chance. He went to Vidarbha, and cricket gave him a second chance. However, at some stage, that story will also end, and this is the match. In the first two matches, we have seen glimpses that he can bat well, but he hasn't scored too many runs."

You can take a call after six innings - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra further said that the Indian team management giving preference to Nair over Sai Sudharsan was an indication that they have trust in him, and after giving him six innings, the call should be made on his future. He elaborated:

"He was kept and Sai Sudharsan was dropped. I would say give him a minimum of one more Test match. Then it will be six innings. You can take a call after six innings. When you are giving a chance to a player, err on the side of giving one extra game than one fewer. Comebacks don't happen easily. Give him enough chances to fail or succeed.

"What about Nitish Kumar Reddy? Nitish's bowling has confirmed that you don't need to play him for bowling, but you can play him for his batting."