India National Cricket Team captain Shubman Gill has lost respect as a leader in the eyes of Mohammad Kaif, leaving Karun Nair, struggling for the fourth Test against England at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester.
The former Indian batsman took his social media handle to criticize Shubman Gill’s decision to leave Karun Nair for the ongoing five -match Test series win against England. The Indian cricket team left Nair and brought it to Sai Sudarshan for the Manchester Test.
Mohammad Kaif Slams Shubman Gill to leave Karun Nair
The move has raised questions about the decisions of Gill’s leadership. In particular, Nair returned to the Indian team after eight long years on the back of memorable performances in domestic cricket. However, the right -handed batsman could not create a major impact in the first three tests.
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Karun got a good start, but failed to turn him into a big score, as he could manage an average of 131 runs on average 21.83 with his highest score 40 in England, in the first three Tests so far. His score in the ongoing test series read 0, 20, 31, 26, 40 and 14 at a strike rate of 52.61.
As India looked at the five-match test series running in Manchester 1-2, he made three changes. Nair was replaced by Sai Reformson, Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj were brought for the injured Akash deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Shubman Gill misses the opportunity to earn honor: Mohammad Kaif
However, Kaif Shubman was not happy with Gill’s call, saying that the Indian captain gave an opportunity to return a struggling player when it was most important and earned respect.
He also said that Gill had an opportunity to show leadership by supporting Nair, which was entitled to another chance, such as Sai manages to score runs in the ongoing fourth test, Karnataka Batter will travel to all.
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Mohammad Kaif posted, X: “Today Shubman Gill had a chance to return Karun, which was below, but deserved another chance. He should have been chosen by Karun Nair. Chance missed out on earning respect for taking tough decisions as a leader.”
Today Shubman Gill had a chance to return Karun which was below but was entitled to another chance. He should have been selected by Karun Nair. While talking about taking tough decisions as a leader, he missed to earn this honor.
– Mohammad Kaif (@mohammadkaif) July 23, 2025
India lost 14 toss in a line, target for first win in Manchester
Meanwhile, India did not get much luck with the toss recently. Last time men won the toss in any international match in Blue, returning to Rajkot in January during the T20 Eye Eye. Since then, they have lost 14 toss in a row, including the ICC event.
Manchester’s Old Trafford has also been a difficult place for India. In the nine Tests played at the venue, India never won. On the other hand, England have dominated Manchester in recent years, winning 14 out of 20 tests since 2000, with just 2 necklaces and 4 draws.
In the five -match Test series running so far, England have won all four toss against India. Interestingly, any team has never won a Test match at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground after bowling first, as 3 out of 11 matches lost and ended in 8 draws.