India tour of England 2025: Anil Kumble backs THIS player to succeed Virat Kohli at No.4 in Tests

Former India Test team captain Anil Kumble has put weight behind Karun Nair to succeed Virat Kohli at No.4 after the veteran batter announced retirement from the format on Monday (May 12). Virat, dropping curtains on a 14-year Test career, will leave a big hole in the middle order ahead of the England tour, which begins on June 20. However, according to Kumble, Nair is the perfect replacement for Virat in the red-ball format.

Kumble backs Nair

"Karun deserves to come back into the Indian team with the kind of domestic run he has had. So perhaps he could be the No.4 for India because I feel you need a bit of experience. You need someone in England who has been there and done that. He has played County cricket, so he knows the conditions,” Kumble said on Wednesday.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Nair was in great form during the Indian domestic season in 2024 and paved his way back into the conversation for a place in the national team. There were muted conversations for Nair to be included in the Indian team for the Champions Trophy after he scored 779 runs in seven innings that included five hundreds. This was also the most hundreds scored by any player in a single season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

ALSO READ | IPL 2025 | BCCI scrambles to get foreign players as IPL sets for resumption: Who will return and who won’t? Deets inside

However, despite the stellar run, he was not included in the Indian squad for the Champions Trophy.

Now there are conversations of him being on the plane for the England tour to represent India A. On the other hand, Kumble’s words have given weight to the conversation to include him in the main 15-man squad for the England tour, starting on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds.

Nair’s last Test match for India came in March 2017 as India beat Australia by eight wickets in Dharamsala. He is also one of two players to score a triple hundred for India in Test format.