The exclusion of Karun Nair from India’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England and ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has sparked heated debates among cricket fans on social media. Now, India’s chief coach Ajit Agarkar has reflected on Nair’s exclusion from the Indian team.
Ajit Agarkar hailed Karun Nair’s outstanding form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25, where he produced one of the best performances of the 50-over tournament ever. However, Nair’s record-breaking tally was not enough, as India’s chief coach simply said that the 33-year-old batsman could not be accommodated in the current line-up.
The former Indian pacer highlighted the fierce competition within the Indian team, while discussing the non-selection of one of the consistent performers, Nair. However, Ajit Agarkar termed Karun Nair’s performance in the ongoing 50-over tournament crazy as the right-handed batsman was in red-hot form with the bat.
The right-handed batsman has so far amassed a whopping 750+ runs in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. His scores read: 112*(108), 44*(52), 163*(107), 111*(103), 112*(101), 122*(82) and 88*(44), highlighting his consistency .
However, with only 15 spots to fill in the squad, Ajit Agarkar said it was extremely difficult for the Indian selectors to accommodate the Vidarbha captain in the ODI line-up, despite his heroic efforts in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25.
We Can’t Fit Everyone: Ajit Agarkar vs Karun Nair
Ajit Agarkar told reporters at a press conference, “Averaging 750+ is just crazy. Performances like his don’t happen often. However, with only 15 places available, we cannot accommodate everyone.”
However, India’s head coach revealed that Karun Nair remains on their radar and could be called up if injuries occur during the tournament. Agarkar signed off saying, “He deserves our attention. There will be conversations around him if someone is injured and there is a spot that comes up in the team.”
Earlier, even cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar hailed Karun Nair’s phenomenal performance in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. Master Blaster suggested Nair to continue to be strong and seize every opportunity so that he can retain his place in the Indian cricket team.
Sachin Tendulkar posted on X: “Scoring 752 in 7 innings with 5 centuries is nothing short of remarkable @karun126. Performances like these don’t just happen; they come from tremendous focus and hard work. Keep it up and make every opportunity count!”
Scoring 752 runs in 7 innings with 5 centuries is nothing short of remarkable, @karun126. Performances like these don’t just happen, they come from tremendous focus and hard work. Keep it up and make every opportunity count!
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 17, 2025
Namely, 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 came against Australia in the 2017 Dharamshala Test.
Since then, he has been steadily racking up 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. Nair has also scored 3462 runs in 163 T20 matches.
