The veteran middle-order India batter Karun Nair had reportedly batted with a fractured finger at The Oval, during the final Test between India and England. A report from the Times of India suggested that Nair sustained the injury while batting during the second innings. Even though he continued batting, he didn't field later, as Abhimanyu Easwaran was called in as the substitute fielder. Nair, who scored a crucial half century (57 off 109 balls) in the first innings, managed 17 runs of 32 balls. Earlier during the Manchester Test, Rishabh Pant suffered a toe fracture. He was initially carried out but he came back the next day and completed his half century. However, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja, who scored a century each, drew the Test, making sure Rishabh didn't have to come to bat in the second innings. Karun Nair snubbed form Duleep Trophy The injury has sidelined him from participating in the 2025 Duleep Trophy. Having been one of the most consistent run-scorers in recent domestic seasons — amassing 863 runs at an average of 53 for Ranji Trophy winners Vidarbha — he was almost certain to earn a spot in the Central Zone squad. Instead, he will now focus on rehabilitation and recovery. From the next season, he will be in contention for a place in the South Zone team, following his switch from Vidarbha back to Karnataka, his native state, which he had left a few years earlier. Read also: ECB rejects two-tier WTC, suggests structural refinements Sai Su to take Karun Nair's place in the Test team? Karun Nair did make a comeback in the Test team after 7 years, but his footwork doesn't look suitable to survive at Number 3. In the recently concluded Anderson Tendulkar Series, Nair contributed 205 runs in eight innings, at an average of 25.62. Pointing out his issues with the techniques, former Indian batter Deep Dasgupta said to TOI, "His feet don’t move enough to be successful at No. 3. In that case, the options become limited and when it’s a choice for Nos. 6 or 7, there are too many options. It’s not just Shreyas (Iyer) and Sarfaraz (Khan). Even Axar Patel or Nitish Reddy can come into the picture depending on the nature of the pitches India are playing on." The Chennaiyan Sai Sudharsan has a better technique for the long run even though he too didn't contribute much with the bat. Sudharsan played 6 innings and scored 140 runs at an average of 27.33.