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Karun Nair’s exclusion from India’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has sparked heated debates among cricket fans on social media. Now, Indian head coach Ajit Agarkar addressed Nair’s exclusion from the Indian squad.
Ajit Agarkar praised Karun Nair’s outstanding form in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he delivered one of the best performances the 50-year-old tournament has ever witnessed. However, Nair’s record showing was not enough as the Indian head coach has simply said that they cannot fit the 33-year-old batsman in the current line-up.
The former Indian pacer highlighted the fierce competition within the Indian team as he discussed the non-selection of one of the consistent performers, Nair. However, Ajit Agarkar termed Karun Nair’s performance in the ongoing 50-over tournament as crazy as the right-handed batsman has been in red-hot form with the bat.
The right-handed batsman has so far amassed a staggering 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), which stands out its consistency.
However, with only 15 places to fill in the squad, Ajit Agarkar said the Indian selectors found it very difficult to accommodate the Vidarbha captain in the ODI line-up, despite his heroic efforts in the 2024 Vijay Hazare Trophy -25 in progress.
We can’t suit everyone: Ajit Agarkar on Karun Nair snub
Ajit Agarkar told reporters at the press conference, “Having an average of over 750 is simply insane. Performances like yours don’t happen often. However, with only 15 slots available, we can’t accommodate everyone.”
However, the Indian chief selector has revealed that Karun Nair remains on his radar and could be called up if injuries occur during the tournament. Agarkar signed off saying, “He has caught our attention. The talks will be around him if someone is injured and there is a spot that comes up in the team.”
Earlier, even cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar praised Karun Nair’s phenomenal performance in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. The Master Blaster has advised Nair to keep going strong and make every opportunity count in order to retain his place in the Indian cricket team.
Sachin Tendulkar posted on X: “Scoring 752 runs in 7 innings with 5 centuries is nothing short of extraordinary @karun126. Performances like these don’t just happen; they come from immense focus and hard work. Stay strong and make every opportunity count!”
To score 752 runs in 7 innings with 5 centuries is nothing extraordinary, @karun126. Performances like these don’t just happen, they come from immense focus and hard work. Stay strong and make every opportunity count!
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 17, 2025
Notably, 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 was against Australia in the Dharamshala Test in 2017.
Since then, he has been steadily racking up runs in domestic cricket, but has not impressed the selectors enough to bring him back into the Indian squad. So far he has 7637 in 109 first-class matches and 3101 in 106 List A matches to his name. Nair also scored 3462 runs in 163 T20 matches.
