ENG vs IND 2025: Aakash Chopra bats for ‘one final chance’ for Karun Nair

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra feels that Karun Nair deserves a shot at the upcoming Lord’s Test for a final call to be taken on his spot in the Test XI. Karun, making his comeback to international cricket after eight years in this series, has been able to score only 77 runs in four innings so far.

Chopra commented on how Karun went back to the grind of domestic cricket to prove his worth. He felt that Karun had only batted well in patches as far as the ongoing series was concerned.

“I would say give Karun Nair one more chance for sure, because this is now Karun Nair’s final chance. He played earlier, scored a triple century, and then got dropped. It was slightly unfair at that time,” shared Chopra in a video on his YouTube channel.

“Then, he scored a lot of runs and returned to the team. He asked cricket to give him a second chance. He went to Vidarbha, and cricket gave him a second chance. However, at some stage, that story will also end, and this is the match. In the first two matches, we have seen glimpses that he can bat well, but he hasn’t scored too many runs,” he added.

Give him enough chances to fail or succeed: Chopra

The ex-Indian cricketer felt six consecutive innings would be an ideal window to gauge a batter’s performance and urged the team management to not drop him for the third Test of the series.

“He was kept and Sai Sudharsan was dropped. I would say give him a minimum of one more Test match. Then it will be six innings. You can take a call after six innings. When you are giving a chance to a player, err on the side of giving one extra game than one fewer. Comebacks don’t happen easily. Give him enough chances to fail or succeed,” remarked Chopra.

India will take on the hosts at Lord’s for the third clash in what is turning out to be a highly riveting series. They made a stunning comeback at Edgbaston to emerge victors by 336 runs after having to face a five-wicket setback in the series opener.

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