"He had a real chance to win the match for India" - Irfan Pathan's blunt criticism of batter after ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has criticized Karun Nair for failing to make the most of his opportunities during the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Making his Test comeback after 2017, Nair played in four out of the five matches but failed to leave a significant mark. He scored only 205 runs across eight innings at an average of 25.62, with just one half-century to his name.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, 'Irfan Pathan,' on Wednesday, August 6, the 40-year-old rated Nair’s performance a four out of 10 and said:

“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.

Meanwhile, Pathan gave Sai Sudharsan a rating of five out of 10, noting that the left-hander could have delivered a stronger performance had he played all five matches. Pathan said:

“Sai Sudharsan gets five out of ten. He came across as a player who, with a bit of work on a few aspects, clearly has a lot of cricketing potential. He could have made better use of the opportunities he got but wasn’t quite able to do so. However, I do believe that if he had played all the matches, things might have turned out differently, but it’s not that easy.”

“When you go overseas, you get a chance, your team loses, then you get dropped, and later you’re brought back. Even selecting a playing XI is a tough job. But as a player, he’ll definitely feel that if he gets regular opportunities going forward, he can achieve a lot. I’ve always liked left-handed batters at the top of the order, and even in the last match when he got a chance, he scored a half-century and batted well. He has the ability to do well. That’s why he gets five out of ten,” he added.

Sudarshan featured in six innings and scored 140 runs at a modest average of 23.33, including one half-century.

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“He couldn’t live up to the expectations” - Irfan Pathan weighs in on Shardul Thakur’s performance in ENG-IND 2025 series

In the same video, Irfan Pathan also pointed out that Shardul Thakur failed to meet expectations in the series. The 33-year-old featured in two matches, scoring 46 runs across three innings at an average of 15.33. The right-arm seamer was underwhelming, managing just two wickets in three innings. Reacting to Shardul’s performance, Pathan said:

“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.”

Overall, he has represented India in 13 Tests, picking up 33 wickets and scoring 377 runs, which includes four half-centuries.