New Delhi [India], July 22 (ANI): Former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin silenced Karun Nair's critics by declaring that the Vidarbha batter has done 'well' despite the hiatus of a substantial score after three Tests in India's ongoing tour of England.

The runs that flew briskly from Karun's bat in the domestic circuit have dried up in England. After a swashbuckling 204 for India A in the first unofficial Test against England Lions, he raised the expectations around him to new heights.

However, a couple of weeks later, Karun's bat resorting to silence hasn't helped his cause since his return to the Test fold after an eight-year exile. In three Tests, he has mustered up 131 runs at 21.83, while his compatriots have made the art of scoring a piece of cake.

With India trailing 1-2 in the five-match affair and tottering in a must-win situation, fans and former cricketers have questioned whether he should continue with him or not in the fourth Test in Manchester, scheduled to begin on Wednesday. Despite all the noise, Ashwin isn't willing to buy the narrative that Karun hasn't played well and has struck 'beautiful' runs throughout his limited stay at the crease.

'People are saying he would be dropped, but he has actually batted well. He has made elegant, poised and beautiful runs. He has looked in solid touch. It didn't feel like he was hurried or under pressure,' Ashwin said on his YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat.

The manner of Karun's dismissal has been a source of backlash. At Lord's, he looked unperturbed while batting at 40, but gave away an unprecedented outside edge to Joe Root off England captain Ben Stokes. In the second innings, Karun was offered no clemency for his error of judgement.

During India's pursuit of a 193-run target, he misjudged Brydon Carse's delivery and decided to offer no shot. The ball nipped sharply into him and pinned him right in front of the stumps. In the second Test, he got off to daunting starts but failed to materialise it into something impactful.

Ashwin dissected factors conspiring against Karun and suggested that it has been more mental than a technical fault or failure and said, 'I have a feeling he is probably losing his concentration, or maybe that fear of failure in international cricket. In his mind, he will obviously want to score big runs.'

Even though there have been calls for Sai Sudharsan's return to the number three spot, the former frontline spinner hopes Karun gets the remainder of the two Tests and then gets judged for his performances. He cited the example of former captain Virat Kohli, who was backed for India's tour of Australia in 2011 to support his case.

'I would dearly like to see him get all five matches. Then you decide whether he is good or not. If that is not the rule, then Sai should have played at number three. Give him the series. In Australia in 2011, Virat Kohli didn't score runs in the three Tests. In Perth, he scored 70 and scored a century in Adelaide. After that hundred, he never looked back,' he added.

India's squad for the fourth Test: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj. (ANI)