Chief selector Ajit Agarkar expressed regret over not picking Karun Nair in India's ODI team for the upcoming home series against England and the Champions Trophy next month despite being in praise of the senior batter's "insane" Vijay Hazare Trophy performance. Yet the selection call was slammed by former India cricketer Surinder Khanna, who showed no mercy to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Nair carved out a memorable List A performance in the recently-concluded domestic tournament, where he smashed 779 runs in seven matches at a mind-boggling average of 389.5, where he remained unbeaten for six straight innings. Experts immediately backed the veteran batter to make a return to the international fold after nine years. But he was not named in the 15-member squad for the Champions Trophy.
"I think Karun Nair is a bit unlucky. I wish I was the chairman of selectors. He hit 300 in the test match, and after that he disappeared. Now suddenly the moon has come out again, so that moon should shine for 2-3 years and how many 35-36 year olds can you have in the team? It's a one-day format, you require quick movers in the fielding," Khanna said while speaking to ANI.
Nair made his India debut in 2016, playing six Test matches, including a historic triple-century against England at home. He also played two ODIs for India, scoring 46 runs, with a best score of 39.
'Rohit Sharma is so weak'
{{/usCountry}}Nair made his India debut in 2016, playing six Test matches, including a historic triple-century against England at home. He also played two ODIs for India, scoring 46 runs, with a best score of 39.
'Rohit Sharma is so weak'
{{/usCountry}}Khanna also raised questions on Rohit and Kohli's fitness. He labelled the 37-year-old as a "weak" fielder, against whom a batter could milk two runs if stationed at the boundary, and claimed that Kohli always fields inside the circle.
"The captain is also weak. I mean, if you make Rohit Sharma field on the boundary, then two runs will be easily taken. Virat Kohli also fields in slips and only does fields inside the circle. Kohli is not making runs in the fielding, he is putting in a lot of effort. the circle. I hope they all get fit mentally and focus and come back to their form," he added.
The 68-year-old, however, lauded the selectors' call to name Shubman Gill as the India vice-captain for the Champions Trophy 2025.
"It is a very good and positive development. The new generation who want to take captainship from Rohit Sharma, have been given leadership roles. When Shubman Gill was sent to Zimbabwe as a captain, he went to a couple of places. The youngster has shown promise. Gill has to get his form, that's the main thing," Khanna concluded.