Veteran Karun Nair expressed disappointment after being left out of India’s West Indies Test squad. Despite a fifty in England and strong Ranji form, Devdutt Padikkal was preferred. Nair questioned the decision and will now focus on Ranji Trophy.
Indian veteran batter Karun Nair has expressed his disappointment over his exclusion from the Test squad for the upcoming two-match series against West Indies, which will begin on October 2. The BCCI senior men’s team chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, held a press conference to announce the 15-member India squad in Dubai on Thursday, September 25.
One of the talking points from India’s squad announcement was Karun Nair’s name missing in the list of players selected for the two-match Test series against West Indies. The 34-year-old, who made his comeback to Test cricket after 8 years in the England series, was omitted from the squad, and instead, his Karnataka teammate Devdutt Padikkal was picked for a likely middle-order role in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who stepped away from red-ball cricket for six months due to back stiffness.
When asked about Karun Nair’s exclusion from the India Test squad, Ajit Agarkar gave an honest answer, stating that selection was expecting a little from the veteran Indian batter to perform in the England series, adding that Padikkal currently offers more compared to Karun, given his recent performance in the India A’s unofficial Tests against Australia A.
Karun Nair questions the selection criteria
A few hours after the India Test squad for the West Indies series was announced, Karun Nair broke his silence over his exclusion from the selection. Speaking to The Times of India (TOI), Nair admitted he was expecting selection in the squad, but was left disappointed after being excluded from the West Indies Test series.
Nair for overlooking his recent contributions, pointing out that he scored a fighting fifty in the Oval Test, and he expressed his disappointment that his efforts did not matter in the final selection.
“Yes, I did expect the selection. I don’t know what to say. No words. I don’t have any much comments to make. It’s very difficult for me to answer,” Nair said.
“You should probably ask the selectors on what they’re thinking. Only thing is, in the last Test match also, I got a 50 when no one else scored in the first inning. So, yeah, I thought I contributed to the team and especially in the last game that we won. But yeah, it is what it is. Those things don’t matter.” he added.
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Karun Nair made his Test comeback for the England series on the back of an impressive red-ball season, especially in the Ranji Trophy, wherein he played for Vidarbha and amassed 863 runs, including 4 centuries and 2 fifties, at an average of 53.93 in 16 innings.
However, Nair failed to replicate his domestic form in the England Test series as he could score 205 runs, including a fifty, at an average of 25.62 in eight innings.
Prepares for Ranji Trophy season
After being snubbed from the India Test squad for the West Indies series, Karun Nair will now shift his focus towards the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. Nair would not be part of Vidarbha in the upcoming Irani Cup as he returned to his state team, Karnataka, ahead of the new domestic season.
“There’s nothing much I can say. There’s nothing much that I can do to change anything. So, yeah, I just have to keep going. At least from my point of view, not from others’ point of view,” the veteran Karnataka batter said.
“In my head, I’m very clear. I did my best, they have made the decision and you have to respect that. Now I’m just going to play Ranji Trophy,” he added.
Despite being one of the two Indian batters to score a triple century in Tests, Karun Nair continues to face an uncertain future with the national team. In his Test career, Nair has aggregated 579 runs, including a triple century and a fifty, at an average of 41.35 in 10 matches.