ENG vs IND- 'Cricket, Please Give Me Another Chance': Karun Nair Seizes Moment, Returns To International Cricket After 3004 Days

Karun Nair has made a sensational return to international cricket after a gap of eight years. The star batter has been named in the Indian playing XI against England in the first Test at Headingley.

Karun Nair Named In India Playing XI Against England

Following a brilliant domestic campaign with Vidarbha last season, Nair earned a call-up to the Indian Test team after a span of eight years, and he will finally make his presence felt after a whopping 3004 days. Nair will be slotted at No. 4 while Sai Sudharsan is making his debut and will take up the number three position.

Nair has missed 77 Test matches between his two spells and is 4th in the list among Indians to have missed the most number of matches between two appearances.

118: Jaydev Unadkat (2010-22)
87: Dinesh Karthik (2010-18)
83: Parthiv Patel (2008-16)
77: Karun Nair (2017-25) *
56: Abhinav Mukund (2011-17)

Shubman Gill Leads Team India For First Time In Test Cricket

England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bowl first. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the batting for England and the visitors are off to a steady start. This also marks the start of the Shubman Gill era, who has been handed the charge after Rohit Sharma retired from the red-ball format. The 25 year old became India's 37th Test captain, and he will be seeking to break the English shackles. Team India haven't secured a series win since 2007 and the onus will be on the Indian captain to lead his team all the way to glory.

Indian Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Also Read: ENG vs IND, 1st Test, Day 1 LIVE Updates