Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan took a dig at Karun Nair for not capitalizing on his comeback opportunity during the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Returning to the Test side after a long gap since 2017, Nair featured in four of the five matches but failed to make a strong impact.
He managed just 205 runs in eight innings, averaging 25.62, with only one half-century. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Irfan Pathan, on Wednesday, August 6, the 40-year-old gave Karun Nair a rating of four out of 10 for his overall performance.
“Karun Nair gets four out of ten. Why? He didn’t look particularly poor throughout the series. He kept getting starts consistently but managed only one half-century. He got plenty of opportunities. Cricket definitely gave him a second chance, but he couldn’t capitalise on it the way he should have. Especially in the Lord’s Test, he had a real chance to win the match for India but couldn’t do it.”
“Other than that, it often seemed like he was playing well, building up nicely, and then suddenly, he’d play a loose shot and get out. At the Oval, when the bouncer was used against him, he looked a bit shaken and seemed more unsettled and uncomfortable. So, he gets four points,” he added.
“He Fell Short” – Irfan Pathan On Shardul Thakur’s 2025 England Tour
In the same video, Irfan Pathan also highlighted Shardul Thakur’s underperformance in the series. The 33-year-old played two Tests, scoring only 46 runs in three innings at an average of 15.33. With the ball, the right-arm pacer delivered a below-par showing, picking up just two wickets in three innings.
Sharing his thoughts on Thakur’s display, Pathan remarked:
“Shardul Thakur. He was making a comeback, especially after an impressive run in domestic cricket. There were expectations that he would replicate that in England, but he couldn’t. I’d give him 4 out of 10, because only one good innings of 41 runs came from him.”
“Apart from that, he didn’t show much impact with the bat. Even in bowling, the consistency was lacking. He is a good player, but he couldn’t live up to the expectations.”
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