Karun Nair, who took as long as eight years, 3,006 days to be precise, to return to India's Test fold, has now been omitted from the playing XI for the Manchester Test against England. He has been replaced by left-hander Sai Sudharsan, who played in the first Test of the series along with Nair. Nair was last seen in action in a Test match in March 2017 before he came back for this series on the back of a brilliant domestic season for Vidarbha. His inclusion had generated interest among supporters, particularly as he was omitted from the Indian team even after scoring a record triple century in 2016. Though, his return was not quite scripted. The 33-year-old played the first three Tests of the series and managed to score only 131 runs in six innings with a best score of 40 against England at Lord's. With India behind 1-2 in the series, the team management was compelled to tinker with the team, and Nair was left out of the decider. With his age and India's emphasis on crafting a young core, there is a very high possibility that Lord's game was Karun Nair's last Test match. Also Read | Karun Nair on Thin Ice After Wasting Big Chance at Lord’s A Look at Karun Nair's Test Career Karun Nair has appeared in a total of nine Tests, playing in 13 innings. Overall, he scored a total of 505 runs, his best showing an unbeaten 303 against England at Chennai in 2016. Except for that legendary innings, Nair could not make significant scores in his other appearances. Karun Nair's Test Scores 1st Innings 2nd Innings Against Venue Date 4 DNB England Mohali 26 Nov 2016 13 - England Wankhede 8 Dec 2016 303* - England Chennai 16 Dec 2016 26 0 Australia Bengaluru 4 Mar 2017 23 - Australia Ranchi 16 Mar 2017 5 DNB Australia Dharamsala 25 Mar 2017 0 20 England Leeds 20 Jun 2025 31 26 England Birmingham 2 Jul 2025 40 14 England Lord’s 10 Jul 2025 Even after being offered three chances on his comeback series, Nair's failure to deliver saw him being left out. With some young and reliable performers on standby, Dhruv Jurel and Abhimanyu Easwaran being the prime examples, as well as other talented up-and-coming domestic performers, Nair is not likely to be given a chance in the next set of Test matches as India looks ahead to the long term.