Karun Nair was picked in the India squad for the five-match Test series against England. Nair, who last played for India against Australia in 2017, was rewarded for his outstanding performance in domestic cricket. The wait for the comeback was long, but Nair did not give up and kept on grinding hard in domestic cricket, eventually forcing the selectors to give him another shot.

Nair's form peaked in the 2024-2025 season, where he scored 863 runs in nine matches of the Ranji Trophy, helping his team Vidarbha win the title, and also smashed 779 runs at a staggering average of 389.50 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Speaking after the match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, Nair said he was eagerly waiting for the news, and he started getting a lot of calls and messages after the squad was announced.

“First of all really grateful to get back into the team. Really happy and proud. Very fortunate as well. I found out about my inclusion just like you guys did. Was eagerly waiting for the news and I got a lot of messages from my close ones. Have been batting well in the last 12-16 months.”

“It's about keeping my processes the same and going out there and doing the same things that have worked for me and not changing the way I have played,” he added.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill was named the captain of the side following the retirement of Rohit Sharma, while Rishabh Pant was named his deputy. Sai Sudharsan also got a call-up in the India squad after a staggering run in IPL. Among the notable absentees were Mohammed Shami, who was snubbed due to fitness concerns, Shreyas Iyer, and Sarfaraz Khan.

India Squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC/WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindrsa Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akashdeep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav