New Delhi [India], July 23 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif raised questions on Indian Test captain Shubman Gill for dropping right-hand batter Karun Nair from the playing XI for the ongoing fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, which is being played at Old Trafford in Manchester.

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 an average of 21.83.

Taking to his official social media handle, X, Kaif wrote, 'Today was Shubman Gill's chance to back Karun, who was down but deserved one more chance. He should have picked Karun Nair. Chance missed to earn the respect when it comes to making tough decisions as a leader.'

https://x.com/MohammadKaif/status/1947977363763146853

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 a good start but failed to turn it into something impactful.

At the end of the first session's play on Day 1 of the Manchester Test, India was 78/0, with KL (40*) and Jaiswal (36*) unbeaten.

England skipper Ben Stokes won the fourth consecutive toss and opted to bowl against India in the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester on Wednesday. India, trailing by 1-2, needs to conjure a win to keep the series alive. A defeat would mark the beginning of Captain Shubman Gill's era. However, after winning by 22 runs at Lord's, England will try to build on their previous successes and take an insurmountable lead in the series.

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Anshul Kamboj. (ANI)