Karnataka batter Karun Nair’s dramatic return to the India Test fold after more than eight years turned out to be a short-lived stay this season when he was dropped for the recently concluded two-match series against West Indies.
Picked for the five-match Test tour under Shubman Gill’s captaincy in a period of transition in early June, Nair featured in four of the five Tests in the series India drew 2-2 with England. The 33-year-old, however, could not make a significant mark in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, aggregating 205 runs in eight innings with a solitary half-century.
After being ruled out with an injury for a brief period since, Nair was overlooked for the Duleep Trophy and the subsequent India A series against Australia A before making his comeback through the Ranji Trophy for Karnataka. After scoring 73 and 8 in the first round, Nair cracked an unbeaten 174 not out against Goa, propelling Karnataka’s total to 371 on Sunday.
Reflecting on his snub after recording his 25th First-Class hundred in a chat with reporters, Nair said he hoped for a better stint in his return to the national side.
“Obviously, it is quite disappointing. After the last two years I’ve had, I think I deserved a lot better. More than a series.
“There are certain individuals in the [Indian] team who have had good conversations with me about how they felt. That’s about it.”
“It does get into the head. But the second thought would be to do your job, which is to score runs and let people have their opinions,” Karun remarked.
“Honestly, what target can I have next? All I want to do is to play for the country. If you’re not able to do that, the next thing would be to try and win games for the side you are playing for.”
There was little sympathy in chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s tone when he explained Karun Nair’s snub from the squad against the West Indies last month. He put it bluntly: “ We expected more from him (in England). He played four Tests, and there was just one fifty.”
“We would like to give 15-20 chances to everyone, but unfortunately it does not work that way.”
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