Karun Nair has put his hat in the ring for a spot in the starting XI for the Test series between India and England which begins later this month. Nair starred on the opening day of the first unofficial Test between with a century for India A against England Lions.
Nair reached his ton just over 150 deliveries on a tricky pitch at the Lawrence Ground in Canterbury. The 33-year-old arrived at the crease in just the sixth over of the day when India A captain Abhimanyu Easwaran departed.
Nair was tested early on with the ball swinging but the right-hander stood his ground even as his partner Yashasvi Jaiswal fell in the seventeenth over. Nair then stitched a 181-run partnership with Sarfaraz Khan who too was tested early on but came out of the tough spell and scored 92.
Nair had moved past 150 at the end of 77 overs and he had taken India A to 337/3 with some time still remaining for the day to end.
ENG Lions Vs IND A Playing XIs
IND A Playing XI: Abhimanyu Easwaran(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Harsh Dubey, Anshul Kamboj, Harshit Rana, Mukesh Kumar
ENG Lions Playing XI: Tom Haines, Ben McKinney, Emilio Gay, Max Holden, James Rew(w/c), Dan Mousley, Rehan Ahmed, Zaman Akhter, Eddie Jack, Josh Hull, Ajeet Dale
Nair recently received a Test call-up more than eight years after playing his last Test. His selection for the England Test series comes on the back of a tremendous run in the last domestic season.
Karun Nair Test stats
Nair has played six Test matches and scored 374 runs out of which 303 not out came in a single innings against England in 2016. He is still the only Indian apart from Virender Sehwag to score a Test triple-century.
Shubman Gill to lead India
India are all set to get a new Test captain as Shubman Gill has been chosen to lead the team for the England tour where India play five Test matches.
