Missed call: Have Nair and Sudharsan done enough?

The two middle-order batters were unable to fully cash in on the good batting tracks in the Tests vs England

- Sanjjeev K Samyal

Karun Nair and B Sai Sudharsan didn’t have a troubled timeat the crease during most of their innings in the just concluded Anderson-Tendulkar series, but they weren't able to fully cash in on their chances either.

This English summer was just beautiful for the batters. With the groundsmen dishing out feather-beds, it became a story of runs and tons — the 7,000-run mark being crossed for the first time in a five-Test series.

In times like these, when runs were so plentiful, the failings become glaring. Nair averaged 25.62 in the series and Sudarshan 23.33, their numbers are dwarfed by Shubman Gill's 75.40, KL Rahul's 53.20, Rishabh Pant’s 68.42, Washington Sundar's 47.33 and Ravindra Jadeja’s 86.00.

When Indian selectors next sit down to analyse the tour, Nair and Sudharsan’s names will figure in “not up to the mark’ column.

There were times in the series when both of them displayed some grit, but whether it is enough for them to keep their spots is the question. The competition for places in the India side is always intense.

Ajit Agarkar & Co have to ask whether they go back to the likes of Sarfaraz Khan or Shreyas Iyer or have Nair and Sudharsan done enough to convince the selectors that they need to be given one more chance. The prolific Abhimanyu Easwaran is already in the squad, waiting for his chance.