India batter Karun Nair got dismissed for a duck on his return to the Indian Test team. The right-handed batter walked out to bat for India for the first time since 2017 on Day 2 of the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds. However, his comeback ended on a rather forgettable note as he got dismissed for a four-ball duck.

The right-handed batter was caught at short cover, courtesy of a mind-blowing catch by Ollie Pope, who timed his jump to perfection and plucked the ball out of thin air. As a result, Nair’s comeback ended without him having any score to his name, and he had to return dejected to the pavilion.

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Nair was coincidentally dropped from the Indian Test team midway through the 2018 tour of England. However, the 33-year-old earned his way back into the Test team after plundering runs in domestic cricket.

He played a pivotal role in Vidarbha’s triumph in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25, being the fourth-highest run scorer of the season. He accumulated 863 runs from 16 innings at an average of 53.93, registering four hundreds and two fifties.

Earlier, he played an integral part in his team’s run to the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25, being the highest run scorer of the tournament. The 33-year-old scored 779 runs from eight innings at a mind-boggling average of 389.50 and a strike rate of 124.04 with five hundreds and one fifty.

He also finished as the highest run scorer for his team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 with 255 runs from six innings at an average of 42.50 and a strike rate of 177.08. Hence, Nair has been plundering runs everywhere and has openly expressed his desire to make a comeback to the Indian side.

Meanwhile, India were put in a commanding position on Day 2 after a massive stand between Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. The duo added 209 runs for the fourth wicket, taking India’s score past 430. However, after their dismissals, Nair and Shardul Thakur got out cheaply, leaving India on 454/7 at lunch on Day 2.