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First Post
5 hours ago
- Sport
- First Post
No Karun Nair in Ajinkya Rahane's India playing XI for first England Test at Leeds
Veteran Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane sprung a surprise by not picking Karun Nair in his predicted playing XI for India. The first Test between India and England starts at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday. read more Ajinkya Rahane has picked Dhruv Jurel in place of Karun Nair in India's playing XI for the first Test against England at Headingley , Leeds, which starts on Friday, 20 June. While it has been reported by multiple media houses that Karun Nair is set to make a comeback to the Indian Team after a gap of over seven years, Rahane feels Jurel will be a better fit. Nair last played for India in 2017 before being dropped from the team. He, however, is in great form in domestic cricket and scored 863 runs in the recent Ranji Trophy season. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored 779 runs and also smashed a double century in the practice match against England Lions. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Ajinkya Rahane's Predicted XI for the Headingley Test Rahane, however, doesn't seem convinced and opted for Dhruv Jurel in the playing XI. For the No.3 spot, Rahane went with Sai Sudharsan. Rahane feels the recent good form in IPL and domestic cricket would help Sai Sudharsan do well for India at No.3. 'I think so. Yes, he has been in very good form in T20 cricket as well as red-ball cricket. Whatever domestic matches he has played, he's done really well for his side and his technique looks really composed and calm whenever he is batting at the crease, so I think he should be given a chance to bat at number three,' Rahane said on his YouTube channel. Ajinkya Rahane's Predicted XI for Headingley Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh England's Confirmed Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
'Playing alongside those two is very comforting': Karun Nair plots Test redemption with oldest allies in India squad
Comeback king Karun Nair has been one of the main attractions for Indian Test cricket fans in this post-Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma era. Nair's comeback comes eight years after he last played in the format for India. Nair also justified with his return by scoring a double century for India A, in their preparatory unoffcial Test vs England Lions in Canterbury. In the upcoming Test series in England, which is scheduled to begin on Friday in Leeds, Nair is expected to be part of a new-look top-order, which won't have Kohli and Rohit, who annoucned their retirements from the format recently. Speaking ahead of the first Test, Nair opened up on his comeback after stunning domestic performances. Speaking to he said, 'My first thought when I woke up was I want to play test cricket, I want to play for India again. That's probably what kept me going and kept me hungry. The driving force, go to training every day, go to practice every day. I had a goal of I want to play test cricket again and I was always looking at playing test cricket and every day, every morning I used to wake up thinking what should I do to reach that goal.' 'Never losing that belief and having that target to reach was something that helped me. Feeling honored to wear this jersey and honored to be representing my country. 'When I saw everyone for the first time, that's when I really, you know, felt it that I'm finally in the team. Till then it was like a wait for me to kind of start feeling like I've made it again. It's been a few years, I used to always watch everyone on TV, now to be back again in this dressing room feels amazing. You know, getting that first session under the belt was relief, grateful to get that opportunity. Life has come a full circle because I went out of the team in England and now I'm coming back into the team in England. So it's been a while and I'm trying to embrace that.' Nair also rejoiced the fact that he would be sharing the dressing room with KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna, revealing that they have played together since childhood. 'I try to keep it very simple, always think about the positive, have certain goals in mind, visualize things and have real belief in what you visualize. Playing alongside Rahul and Prasidh is also a very comforting factor. We've played cricket for so many years since probably we were young kids and grew up together,' he said. Nair's return comes after he registered 863 runs at 53.93 for Vidarbha's Ranji Trophy-winning team. Before that, he smacked five tons in eight innings at an average of 389.50 at the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
India.com
11 hours ago
- Sport
- India.com
Karun Nair ditched this team after getting place in the national team for India vs England Test match, the team is ....
Every Indian cricket fan's eyes are now fixed on the Test series between India and England. With the series starting with the first Test match at Headingley in Leeds, fans are also focused on Karun Nair, who is making a return to the team after a long wait of 8 years. But a day before the match, shocking reports came out, claiming that Karun had suddenly decided to leave the team. Before you think Karun left Team India that's not the case. Karun has decided to leave his team Vidarbha in domestic cricket. A report by CrickBuzz has revealed that Vidarbha cricket team's star batsman Karun Nair has decided to part ways with the team before the start of the next domestic season. 33-year-old right-handed batsman Karun joined the team two years ago. He was part of Vidarbha in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons and during the last season, he played a key role in the team winning the Ranji Trophy by scoring runs. Nair is believed to be joining his home team Karnataka once again. He was dropped from the Karnataka squad two years ago due to poor form. Only after this did he hold the foot of Vidarbha. He had a great last Ranji season in this team, where he scored 863 runs including 4 centuries. In the final, Karun also played a crucial role in making the team champions. He also made history by scoring five consecutive centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. However, the team missed out on the title by losing in the final. Not only Karun is leaving the Vidarbha Cricket Association, but the team has suffered a double blow. Jitesh Sharma, who captained the team in two important white ball tournaments like Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, is also going to join the new team from next season. The report claims that Jitesh Sharma, who played a key role in helping Royal Challengers Bangalore win the IPL 2025 title, will now join the Baroda cricket team in the new season. Coincidentally, the captain of Baroda is Krunal Pandya, who is Jitesh's teammate in RCB. Image credit: ESPNcriclife Indian cricketer Karun Nair became first batsmen who played his maiden century 303 and is not out. India declared the inning by scoring 759/7.
News18
18 hours ago
- Sport
- News18
Homecoming For Karun Nair, Jitesh Sharma To Leave Vidarbha For Baroda: Report
Last Updated: Karun Nair is all set to return to Karnataka after eight years, leaving Vidarbha, as the domestic transfer season begins. Star India batter Karun Nair, who is all set to make a return to the Test fold after eight years, is on the verge of leaving Vidarbha to move back to Karnataka, as the domestic transfer season begins with just over two months to go for the 2025-26 season to start, according to a report in Cricbuzz. Not just Nair, but Vidarbha is also set to lose the services of IPL 2025 winner Jitesh Sharma, Royal Challengers Bengaluru's star wicketkeeper-batter, as he too is contemplating a move to Baroda. Vidarbha were the champions in the Ranji Trophy, runners-up in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and quarterfinalists in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the 2024-25 season. Vidarbha's domestic success last year was built on strong batting contributions from Nair and Jitesh, with the former playing a crucial role. Nair scored 863 runs in the Ranji Trophy, the fourth-highest in the event and topped the charts in the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament with 779 runs. Nair had left Karnataka ahead of the 2023-24 season, but according to the report, he will return to the state for personal and family reasons. KSCA sources confirmed to Cricbuzz that Nair's return is a strong possibility. The star Indian batter led Vidarbha in the Vijay Hazare last year. Sources within BCA have confirmed to Cricbuzz that the transfer of Jitesh from Vidarbha to Baroda should be completed within a day or two. Jitesh led Vidarbha in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and played under Nair in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but couldn't make much of an impact. Jitesh enjoyed a successful Indian Premier League season with RCB and delivered some match-winning innings, including a 10-ball 24 in the final. Baroda Cricket Association officials have said that Jitesh will play in both red-ball and white-ball formats for the state side. Last year, Karnataka won the Vijay Hazare defeating Nair's Vidarbha, but couldn't make the knockouts in the Syed Mushtaq Ali. In the Ranji Trophy, Karnataka couldn't reach the knockouts. Nair's inclusion in the red-ball team might just provide Karnataka with the much-needed push in the Ranji Trophy. First Published: June 19, 2025, 23:18 IST
Hindustan Times
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
India vs England: Gill's baptism of fire marks India's new start
Kolkata: No Virat Kohli, no Rohit Sharma, no Ravichandran Ashwin, no Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah available for only three Tests—Shubman Gill's captaincy debut is expected to be nothing less than a baptism of fire as India take on an unpredictable England in a five-Test series starting at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday. Playing England in England hasn't always been comforting. And to compound the discomfort, the first Test is at Headingley where India were dismissed for 78 the last time they had played there. Leeds has been unusually warm, meaning the pitch may not be as moisture laden as in the past. But since history finds strange ways of repeating itself, India can't take the conditions for granted. Technique will be paramount to surviving and flourishing in England. India, however, have deeper worries as they try to figure out the top-order. Gill will bat at No. 4, vice-captain Rishabh Pant at 5, meaning KL Rahul is most likely to accompany Yashasvi Jaiswal as opening batter. That leaves Karun Nair as the most plausible No. 3 even though the uncapped B Sai Sudharsan has done enough and more to throw his hat into the ring. If Nair returns after eight years, it would be a remarkable comeback fuelled by stellar domestic performance, including multiple centuries in the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, a double century for India A, and a strong county stint with Northamptonshire. Nevertheless, it's possibly the first time in over two decades that India have had to stretch themselves over their one-down option. Between Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, and then Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, India were never made to feel the sting of transition. That said, the last one year of Test cricket hasn't been too pretty for India despite the presence of Kohli and Sharma. A rare home series defeat to New Zealand followed by a sobering loss in Australia possibly expedited the need for new blood and new combinations. It's a punt that India had to take some day. Away from the comfort of home, Gill will usher in a new era. The pitches in England have flattened out to cater to their inimitable style of batting, so Indians too should find scoring relatively easy. But the fickle overhead conditions continue to be an unsung supporter of seam bowling. This is where the relative inexperience could be ruthlessly exposed. The good thing is that Gill isn't too perturbed. 'A lot of people talk about, you know, our side is not experienced, but there are also positives that we don't really have any baggage coming to England, because not all of the players have really been to England,' said Gill on Thursday. 'So that could be one thing that really makes a difference for us because we wouldn't be carrying any baggage.' The same can't be said about England. Their liberating brand of cricket, though entertaining, isn't pretty when they start losing the plot. Which is why England have won 23 and lost 12 Tests since Ben Stokes became captain with Brendon McCullum as coach. 'We know that when we are on top of teams, we are very, very good,' Stokes told the BBC. 'And where we maybe have let ourselves down in the past over the last three years is when we have been behind the game, we've not given ourselves the best chance of wresting ourselves back into the game, and that's an area that we have looked at and know that we need to get better at if we want to end up being where we want to end up being as a team.' First-innings runs have been an issue for India, considering they have crossed 300 only twice in 10 innings over the past year, but Gill is not in favour of sacrificing bowling edge. 'You can't win a Test match without taking 20 wickets no matter how many runs you score,' he said. 'So, that has been one of our key discussion points, you know, how we're gonna take 20 wickets. And there might be a case, you know, where we could only be going with some pure batters and you could see a bowling allrounder and three to four premier fast bowlers or proper bowlers.' While that outlook may sound brave right now, it remains to be seen how India react to a batting implosion or worse, a defeat at Leeds. Too ingrained in India's touring psychology is the tendency of packing the 11 with batting options, a tactic that failed miserably in Australia a few months back. This is a new captain though, hopefully armed with a new philosophy that can build on the positives of the past. 'The blueprint that we got from our seniors in the last 5-10 years, we can win anywhere and we will try to follow that same confidence and blueprint,' said Gill. 'And, as I said, if your team has a very good environment, players feel very secure and confident and they know what their role is. So, we want to create that environment in the team. And if we succeed in creating that environment, I think our Test series and the WTC cycle will be very successful.'
