One of the weak points that emerged in the IND vs ENG series for the visitors was, the no. 3 position, where the likes of Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan were tried. The right-hander failed to impress altogether at that slot, while Sai Su had one fifty to his name there. Overall, at no. 3 Nair finished with 111 runs in four innings, at an average of 27.75, while the southpaw scored 140, at an average of 23.

Karun Nair Gets 111 Runs At No. 3

But then, out-of-favour no. 3 for India, Cheteshwar Pujara has tipped them to succeed. “Look, young players need a little time to mature. Sai Sudharsan has shown potential — he has performed once. Karun Nair has also performed. So gradually, as they gain experience, their game will keep improving. You can’t expect every player to score two or three hundreds every time, especially since they are young players, so they need time,” Pujara told India Today.

Sai Sudharsan Gets 140 Runs

“And this is a good phase the Indian team is going through — because it was a tough series, and managing to draw it 2-2 shows that every player contributed. So moving forward, this team will definitely perform well.”

Pujara was also impressed with the way Shubman Gill led the side, and won a lot of sessions in England. “The team has won a lot of sessions. So if we talk only about this series, yes, it ended in a draw — but in my opinion, it’s nothing less than a win. This is a victory for the Indian team. Indian cricket is in the right hands and the way all the young players are performing, it’s very promising,” he added.

What this IND vs ENG series did was, it ensured that India’s record of not losing there since 2018, remained intact. The last series too, India had drawn 2-2 in England, under the leadership of Virat Kohli.