Karun Nair or Shreyas Iyer, who should be selected for the test of India vs England?

With the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the selectors are eyeing reinforcements with the India vs England series on the horizon. The Men in Blue are blessed with a plethora of talent, but replacing two legends of the game would be no mean task. Shreyas Iyer and Karun Nair are two front-runners to make the India squad for the England series and it remains to be seen who the selectors back to make the trip.

India vs England: Shreyas Iyer or Karun Nair, who makes the squad?

India has tried a plethora of options since Ajinkya Rahane’s last Test, but coach Gautam Gambhir is yet to settle on a middle-order batsman. Virat Kohli’s retirement creates a larger void, which needs immediate fixing with the India vs England series coming. With Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, and Sarfaraz Khan all struggling with injuries, the decision solely rests between two contenders: Shreyas Iyer and Karun Nair.

Both Shreyas Iyer and Karun Nair have seen their careers cut short due to increasing competition. Shreyas scored a century on debut but could only feature in a handful of Tests. The same was Karun Nair’s case, who failed to make the most of his chances after a scintillating triple century.

Karun vs Shreyas Test career

Shreyas played his last Test at home against England in 2024. The PBKS captain has played just a single Test in England, scoring 34 runs in two innings. Outside Asia, Shreyas has tallied just 75 runs in 6 innings, with a best effort of 31.

Karun, meanwhile, played all of his 6 Tests at home. The last of those games came back in 2017. The veteran has since made one of the most epic comebacks, scoring a truckload of runs in domestic cricket. Nair was third for most runs in the Ranji Trophy, and top scored in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He further added 255 runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to put himself in contention for an India call-up.

Nair has previously featured in the County Championships. The 33-year-old featured for Northamptonshire in 2023 and 2024. The latter was one of his best years, scoring a double century vs Glamorgan to tally 487 runs in 7 games.

Former India captain and veteran Anil Kumble of Karnataka has supported Karun Nair to slot number 4 to play XI in India. Kumble argued that the experience of Nair playing county cricket could help him become a lynchpin in the Indian side.

“Karun is worthy of coming back to the Indian team, with the kind of domestic run they have. So perhaps it can be number 4 for India because I think you need a little experience. Kumble told Espncricinfo.

Age to Shreyas

Karun Nair is 33, which can be argued against his selection. While the experience is important, the selector and coach Gautam Gambhir has so far bent towards a young core. That thinking can be seen in the decision to appoint Jasprit Bumrah as captain.

Old age is on Shreyas. It may also be a leadership option that the future should move south. Iyer titled KKR and Mumbai in T20 competitions. At the age of 30, Shreyas still has a regular stability in the Indian batting lineup.

Both Shreyas Iyer and Karun Nair have enough to be in the mixture. However, there is only one of them the only possibility that the squad sets up for a young man call-up with Sai Sudhrason. Is Karun’s county experience Trump Shreyas to be seen relative to the youth.