Former England captain Kevin Pietersen, who mentored Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, is mighty impressed with Karun Nair and KL Rahul ahead of the upcoming five-match Test series against England.
Pietersen, who worked with both these batters at close quarters in the T20 competition, lauded the way both are preparing for the upcoming series, beginning June 20.
Karun Nair vindicated the selectors’ call to include him in the main squad as he hit a century in the ongoing first unofficial Test between India A and England Lions in Canterbury. The right-handed batter, 33, made full use of some below-par bowling on a green surface, which offered some initial assistance for the pacers.
Karun remained unbeaten on 186 on Day 1 of the first unofficial Test as he made a strong case for his inclusion in the playing XI for the first match of the five-Test series against England in Headingley. The right-hander was involved in an 181-run stand for the third wicket with Sarfaraz Khan. The latter missed out on a well-deserved century, but Karun piled the misery, and he found support in Dhruv Jurel.
According to reports, KL Rahul has also requested that the BCCI fly him to the UK next week so that he can play the second Test between India A and England Lions.
Pietersen labelled Nair and Rahul as “two gems” of Indian cricket as he appreciated their efforts to prepare for the England tour.
“Karun gets a 100 yesterday, and KL has asked BCCI to travel early to the UK to get extra practice in before Tests – 2 gems,” Pietersen wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
KL Rahul to leave for the UK on Monday
According to a report in the Times of India, KL Rahul will leave for the UK on Monday after being granted permission by the BCCI. Rahul was originally slated to leave alongside the rest of the Indian team on June 6.
However, he decided to play the second India A Test against the England Lions after rain spoilt his preparation in Mumbai.
KL Rahul had also played for India A before the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The opening batter will now be required to shoulder the responsibility of the batting order after the Test retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Rahul was one of India’s best batters in the series against Australia, which India lost 1-3.
India will be led by Shubman Gill against England while Rishabh Pant will serve as his deputy.
India squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.