India, July 14 -- For Karun Nair, England was supposed to be the stage where he would sing the redemption song. Where he would revive a Test career that began with so much promise, but ran into a roadblock for no fault of his. Where he would, finally, erase dark memories of his previous visit with the Indian team in 2018 when, despite being in the original party, he was overlooked at the altar of a mid-series reinforcement, Hanuma Vihari.

Three matches into his second coming as a Test batter, Karun hasn't done a great deal to further his cause. He hasn't looked out of sorts, but he hasn't produced the scores that would suggest that he is at home in the five-day game, either. In a series largely dominated by the bat, Karun is the only top...