"Where Should They...": Sunil Gavaskar On Karun Nair Being Overlooked For Champions Trophy

Out-of-favour India batter Karun Nair scored 779 runs across 8 innings at an average of 389.50 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25.

Out-of-favour India batter Karun Nair scored 779 runs across 8 innings at an average of 389.50 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. Legendary Sachin Tendulkar made a supportive social media post. But none of it helped. His dream of donning the Indian jersey again after eight years was dashed when the national selectors led by Ajit Agarkar and skipper Rohit Sharma sat together to pick India's squads for the Champions Trophy and the ODIs against England. There was no place in the Indian team for the 33-year-old Vidarbha captain, who even had an average of 752 before the final match of the domestic tournament.

Speaking on Nair exclusion, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar pointed out the reason why the player failed to find a place in the team.

"Where should they fit him? You could have taken the spot of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. KL will perform the role of second wicetkeeper-batter for this team and his performance during 2023 World Cup was good. I don't think Indian cricket team has played much ODI cricket after that. Shreyas Iyer has also performed well in the format. That is why Karun Nair has not been picked," Gavaskar told Sports Tak.

"If his form during Ranji Trophy remains same, then it will be hard for Team India to not pick him during the upcoming Test tour of England," he added.