Sunil Gavaskar cites the performances of two Indian players as the reason behind Karun Nair’s exclusion from India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad.
Recent announcement of Indian squad for upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 has sparked debate, especially around exclusion Karun Nair. Despite being in sensational form during Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25Nair’s name was missing from the lineup. Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has now shared his insights on why the talented batsman didn’t make the cut, even after his stellar performance.
Karun Nair’s stunning performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy
Nair was nothing short of exceptional during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he showed incredible consistency with the bat. Representing Vidarbha, Nair amassed an incredible 779 runs in just eight matches, including five centuries. His prolific run-scoring earned him the top spot in the tournament’s run charts, and despite Vidarbha’s loss to Karnataka led by Mayank Agarwal in the final, he was named player of the series. His performance raised eyebrows and fueled talk of his potential inclusion in India’s Champions Trophy squad.
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Sunil Gavaskar explains the reason behind Karun Nair’s exclusion
Despite Nair’s undisputed performance, his name was not in India’s squad for the Champions Trophy 2025. Cricket legend Gavaskar gave his insight into the selection decision. He explained that Nair’s exclusion stemmed from considerations of team balance and player roles. Gavaskar pointed out that the two players already had well-established roles in the team and their strong performances in recent tournaments made it a challenge to accommodate Nair in the squad.
“Where should we put him? You could have taken the place of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. KL will play the role of the second goalkeeper-striker for this team, and his performance during the 2023 World Cup was good. I don’t think the Indian cricket team played much ODI cricket after that. Shreyas Iyer also performed well in the format. That is why Karun Nair was not selected,” the former Indian captain told SportsTak (via Inside sports)
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