As India face the Karun question, his coaches back him to perform

Visitors face tricky choices ahead of 4th Test at Old Trafford, and the batter's spot after modest returns is one of them

- Sanjeev K Samyal

Picked for the England series after eight years, Karun Nair always had big shoes to fill. Never mind his heavy scoring in domestic cricket to come back into India contention, he had an edge over other contenders mainly because the team was looking for experience to fill the vacuum after Virat Kohli’s sudden retirement. The extra first-class seasons under the 33-year-old’s belt is the reason he was preferred over young Sai Sudarshan when it came to making a choice between the two or picking him ahead of Sarfaraz Khan in the squad.

After three Tests, the jury is out on whether the selectors and team management have backed the right horse. His highest score is 40 in six innings. Frustratingly for the Indian team’s supporters, Nair has been off to starts but unable to build on them — there have been 20, 31, 26, 40 and 14.

The third Test defeat at Lord's has put the Indian team under immense pressure as the visitors are trailing 1-2 in the series with two matches left. After the second innings toporder collapse at Lord's, which led to the 22-run defeat in the end, Nair’s place in the eleven has come under scrutiny.

Nair has got the chance he desperately wanted, and it is make or break time again. As left-hand batter Sudarshan’s name is also being considered for the fourth Test starting at Old Trafford on Wednesday, the Karun Nair camp vouches for him, hoping he gets another Test. They know he has more potential than what's been on display so far in England.

Nair’s childhood coach Vijayakumar Madyalkar, who was instrumental in his comeback to the Test team by helping him hone his game, says: