ENG vs IND: Captain Shubman Gill Comes in Defence of Karun Nair, Finds No Fault With His Batting

While fans and former cricketers question Karun Nair's place in the fourth Test, Shubman Gill remains hopeful that he will find form. Nair's dismissals have drawn criticism, particularly his failures to convert starts.

Manchester: Ahead of the fourth Test in Manchester, England, Indian skipper Shubman Gill feels Karun Nair is batting well, despite some challenges like not playing at his usual position in the first match and the difficulty of a comeback series. The runs that flew briskly from Karun's bat in the domestic circuit seem to have dried up in England. After a swashbuckling 204 for India A in the first unofficial Test against England Lions, he raised the expectations around him.

However, in three Tests, he has mustered only 131 runs at average of 21.83. "Yes, we have had conversations with him [Karun Nair], but we think he is batting well. Sometimes it's not, first match he didn't really play at his number. It's difficult when a player is making a comeback in a series like this, you know. But I don't think there's been any issue with his batting," Gill told the media.

"Sometimes it's also about getting that click. Once you're able to make your 50, then you're able to get back into your zone and get some big runs. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened for him so far. But we are hopeful that he will be able to turn around," he added. With India trailing 1-2 in the five-match affair, fans and former cricketers have questioned whether he should continue with him or not in the fourth Test in Manchester, scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

The manner of Karun's dismissal has been a source of backlash. At Lord's, he looked unperturbed while batting at 40, but gave away an outside edge to Joe Root off England captain Ben Stokes. In the second innings, Karun made another error of judgement. During India's pursuit of a 193-run target, he misjudged Brydon Carse's delivery and decided to offer no shot. The ball nipped sharply into him and pinned him right in front of the stumps. In the second Test, he got off to good starts but failed to turn them into something impactful.