"This is now Karun Nair's final chance" - Aakash Chopra on India's potential batting changes for ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Former India player Aakash Chopra has urged the Indian team management to retain Karun Nair in the playing XI for the third Test against England. However, he opined that it might be the Vidarbha batter's final chance to keep his place in the lineup.

The third Test between India and England will be played at Lord's from Thursday, July 10, onwards. The five-match series is currently tied at 1-1, with the hosts winning the first game by five wickets and the visitors registering an emphatic 336-run win in the second match.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener reckoned that Nair should be given one final opportunity in the third Test.

"Will you play Karun Nair or not? Will you keep Nitish Kumar Reddy or not? Now that is a big question. I would say give Karun Nair one more chance for sure, because this is now Karun Nair's final chance. He played earlier, scored a triple century, and then got dropped. It was slightly unfair at that time," he said (5:00).

Chopra highlighted the former Karnataka batter's struggles to make a comeback, but noted that the story might end if he doesn't fire at Lord's.

"Then he scored a lot of runs and returned to the team. He asked cricket to give him a second chance. He went to Vidarbha, and cricket gave him a second chance. However, at some stage, that story will also end, and this is the match. In the first two matches, we have seen glimpses that he can bat well, but he hasn't scored too many runs," he observed.

Karun Nair has aggregated 77 runs at an average of 19.25 in the first two Tests against England. He fared better in the second Test, scoring 31 runs in the first innings and 26 runs in the second innings.

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"Give him enough chances to fail or succeed" - Aakash Chopra on Karun Nair's place in India's XI for ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Karun Nair batted at No. 3 in the second Test against England. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that a call can be taken about Karun Nair's future after the third Test as he would potentially have had six innings to prove his credentials.

"He was kept and Sai Sudharsan was dropped. I would say give him a minimum of one more Test match. Then it will be six innings. You can take a call after six innings. When you are giving a chance to a player, err on the side of giving one extra game than one fewer. Comebacks don't happen easily. Give him enough chances to fail or succeed," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Nitish Kumar Reddy should also be retained in the XI as a batter, and not as a sixth bowling option.

"What about Nitish Kumar Reddy? Nitish's bowling has confirmed that you don't need to play him for bowling, but you can play him for his batting. He didn't score runs in both innings in the last match, but it won't be right if you change again. I would say keep Nitish Kumar Reddy as a batter. Don't expect him to bowl too much," Chopra observed.

Nitish Kumar Reddy aggregated two runs across his two innings in the Birmingham Test. He registered figures of 0/29 in six overs in the first innings and wasn't used with the ball in the second innings.