India are all set to begin their campaign in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 campaign with a five-match Test series against England, with the first Test starting on June 20 (Friday) at Headingley, Leeds. The Indian batting order will bear a new look with the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Karun Nair, who has been selected in the India squad after eight years, is reported to be a certainty in the playing XI, coming in at no.3. However, just two days before the match, things have not looked bright for him.

According to a report by RevSportz, Karun Nair struggled a lot in the net session two days before the 1st Test vs England in Leeds. He struggled against Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. Deliveries outside the off-stump troubled him a lot, as he played a lot of defensive strokes.

He then moved on to the spin bowling nets where he faced Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and a few local Yorkshire bowlers. He struggled against them, and was even clean bowled by Jadeja. He even tried a couple of uncharacteristic shots, including reverse sweeps. This showed his struggles and visible frustration.

Karun Nair then moved back to the pace bowling nets. The pacer bowled a couple of seething bouncers that troubled him. One of the bouncers even struck at a spot just below his left ribs, leaving a red mark. In fact, he was genuinely hurt, as he even received some medical attention. He then continued to shadow practice his strokes at the non-striker's end.

Nair then went on to have a prolonged chat with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. After this he worked on his stance, as he focussed on playing straighter, with an improved judgement in leaving deliveries.

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