Karun Nair’s exclusion from India’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has sparked intense debates among cricket fans on social media. Now, Indian chief selector Ajit Agarkar has addressed Nair’s exclusion from the Indian team.
Ajit Agarkar hailed Karun Nair’s exceptional form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25, where he put in one of the best performances the 50-over tournament has ever witnessed. However, Nair’s record-breaking performance was not enough as the Indian selector simply said that they cannot fit the 33-year-old batsman in the current lineup.
The former Indian pacer emphasized the fierce competition within the Indian team, while talking about the non-selection of one of the most consistent players, Nair. However, Ajit Agarkar termed Karun Nair’s performance in the ongoing 50-over tournament as crazy as the right-handed batsman has been in excellent form with the bat.
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The right-handed batsman has so far amassed a staggering haul of over 750 runs in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. Their scores read: 112*(108), 44*(52), 163*(107), 111*(103), 112*(101), 122*(82) and 88*(44), which highlights their consistency.
However, with only 15 spots to fill in the team, Ajit Agarkar said the Indian selectors found it extremely difficult to accommodate the Vidarbha captain in the ODI lineup, despite his heroic efforts in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. in progress.
We can’t suit everyone: Ajit Agarkar on Karun Nair snub
Ajit Agarkar told reporters at the press conference: “An average of 750+ is just crazy. Performances like his don’t happen often. However, with only 15 places available, we cannot accommodate everyone.”
However, the Indian chief selector has revealed that Karun Nair remains on his radar and could be called up if injuries occur during the tournament. Agarkar signed off saying, “You have earned our attention. “Conversations will happen around him if someone gets injured and a spot on the team arises.”
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Earlier, even cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar praised Karun Nair’s phenomenal performance in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. Master Blaster has suggested Nair to stay strong and grab every opportunity so that he can retain his place in the Indian cricket team.
Sachin Tendulkar posted on X: “To score 752 runs in 7 innings with 5 centuries is nothing short of extraordinary, @karun126. Performances like these don’t happen by chance; They come from immense concentration and hard work. Stay strong and make every opportunity count!
Scoring 752 runs in 7 innings with 5 centuries is nothing short of extraordinary, @karun126. Performances like these do not happen by chance, but rather arise from immense concentration and hard work. Keep going and make every opportunity count!
– Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 17, 2025
Notably, Nair has so far represented India in 6 Tests and 2 ODIs and scored 374 and 64 runs respectively before being completely ignored by the national selectors. His last appearance for India was against Australia in the Dharamshala Test in 2017.
Since then, he has been steadily accumulating runs in domestic cricket, but has not impressed the selectors enough to return to the Indian team. So far he has 7637 runs in 109 first-class matches and 3101 runs in 106 List A matches to his name. Nair also scored 3462 runs in 163 T20 matches.