When Karun Nair was picked in the Indian Test team after a hiatus of 9 years, for the England tour, it was pretty clear that the 33-year-old would have to really come up with an exceptional show, to become a regular in the Indian side. But then, despite getting a double ton for IND A vs England Lions, he could not translate that into Test form, and just managed to score a fifty.
No Karun Nair in IND vs SA series
Though, Sai Sudharsan, the other contender for the No. 3 spot, did not come up with any better performances, but perhaps what worked in his favor was his age. And subsequently, Karun Nair was not picked in the West Indies series, and now the South Africa series.
Yes, the BCCI named the India squad for the IND vs SA series on Wednesday, and the Karnataka batter missed out again. That despite getting some substantial scores in the latest Ranji Trophy. First, vs Saurashtra, he scored 73 & 8, and then a daddy ton vs Goa, where he remained 174 not out, and lastly, 233 vs Kerala.
Sai Sudharsan the preferred choice
At least, he could have been picked for a series in India, just to see, if he has it in him, to still make it count at the international level. But perhaps the messaging is clear from Ajit Agarkar, the selection committee chief, that they are not looking at Nair. Though no body can overlook his prowess, but he isn’t getting any younger.
So, it is time to invest in youngsters, who can serve the nation for 5-10 years, and unfortunately Karun might not have that kind of playing time left. But this is all speculation; for all you know, but the time this Ranji season finishes, he might have done something unprecedented, to be hard to be ignored.
IND squad for SA series
Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep
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