Karun Nair rewarded for stellar domestic performance, returns to India A squad for England tour

Karun Nair has been handed a lifeline as he returns to the India A squad for the upcoming England tour after an announcement was made on Friday (May 16). Nair, who scored 779 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the turn of the year, will now board a plane to England as part of the India A squad led by Abhimanyu Easwaran. A good show on the England tour could earn Nair a place in the Indian senior team as they go through a period of transition with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announcing retirements.

Nair returns to India A squad

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.

Nair has not played for the senior side in the last eight years, with his last match coming in March 2017 against Australia. He remains one of only two Indian batters to score a triple hundred in Test matches, alongside Virender Sehwag.

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India A will start their tour of England on May 30 with IPL-bound players unavailable for the clashes against the Lions. The three-match series will conclude on June 16, four days before India’s senior side faces England in Headingley.

India A squad:

Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (VC) (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (WK), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey.

India A fixtures:

30th May to 2nd June - England Lions vs India A, Canterbury

6th June to 9th June - England Lions vs India A, Northampton

13th June to 16th June - Intra-squad match, Beckenham

England v India Test series schedule:

June 20-24 – First Test, Headingley

July 2- 6 – Second Test, Edgbaston

July 10-14 – Third Test, Lord's

July 23-27 – Fourth Test, Old Trafford

July 31-August 4 – Fifth Test, The Oval