In a recent setback, Indian cricketer Karun Nair found himself once again out of the national squad when the team for the home Test series against West Indies was announced on September 25. This came after a brief resurgence in his Test career, following a seven-year absence, during which he was selected for the England tour. Despite his return, he managed a modest 205 runs in that series.
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar had previously stated that they “expected a little bit more” from Nair during his stint in England. The disappointment for the 33-year-old didn’t end with the West Indies series snub; he was also left out of the India ‘A’ squad for the upcoming two-match red-ball series against South Africa ‘A’ on home soil.
Image: Karun Nair playing a shot during a Ranji Trophy cricket match between Karnataka and Saurashtra in Rajkot.
Nair’s initial recall to the national side was a direct result of his phenomenal domestic performance, having amassed an impressive 1,553 runs for Vidarbha in the preceding two Ranji Trophy seasons. While understandably disappointed, Nair is far from ready to give up. He’s returned to his formidable form, recently scoring an unbeaten 174 against Goa after an earlier 73 and 8 against Saurashtra in the season opener.
Following his impressive innings against Goa, which unfortunately fell short of a double century due to a lack of partners, Nair shared his perspective. He mentioned having personal goals but emphasized, “the primary goal would be to win games for the team.”
The prolific middle-order batsman openly expressed his disappointment regarding the national selectors’ decision to overlook him. “It’s quite disappointing,” he admitted, adding, “but I know that I deserve to be there after the last two years (of domestic cricket) I’ve had. People might have their own opinions, but personally, my opinion is that I deserve a lot better.”
While he refrained from directly commenting on communication with the team management, Nair did disclose that “few individuals in the team have had good conversations with me about how they feel and that’s about it.”
Nair’s resolve remains unshaken. “All I can do is keep scoring runs, that’s my job. There’s nothing much for me to say. I just keep telling myself that I deserve more than a series. That’s all I can tell myself, and not let that get into my head. All I want to do is to play for the country. That’s the only target. If you’re not able to do that, the next thing would be to try and win games for the side I’m playing for,” he asserted, signaling his enduring commitment to the sport and his aspirations.