Gavaskar on Karun Nair’s exclusion: ‘Don’t think the team management likes him’

Gavaskar on Karun Nair’s exclusion: Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at the team management for Karun Nair’s exclusion from the playing eleven.

Sunil Gavaskar, former India captain and the first Test batsman to cross the 10,000-run mark, was all steamed up while talking about Karun Nair not been included in India’s playing eleven for the fifth and final Test of the ongoing Pataudi Trophy against England at The Oval.

Apparently, there were news of Hardik Pandya being dropped for the last Test but there was also uncertainty over his replacement. One out of Karun Nair or Hanuma Vihari was expected to fill the spot. Eventually, the team management went with the second option, handing a Test debut to the 24-year old right-hand batsman from Andhra Pradesh.

However, the update didn’t go well with many cricket experts and fans. In the original squad named for the Test series, Nair was included as a back-up option for a middle-order spot. As the series progressed, Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari were added to the squad.

Vihari eventually pinned Nair down to gain the middle-order spot which didn’t go well with Gavaskar. During a pre-match show on Sony LIV, Gavaskar said angrily, “He (Karun Nair) is not your favorite player. The selectors seem to have brought him. Don’t think the team management likes him. Karun Nair has every right to ask the team management why he is not in the team. He deserves an answer. You didn’t pick an extra specialist batsman earlier, but now that you have, Karun Nair deserves an answer. What has Karun Nair done not to get selected … its utter nonsense.”

Nair had become only the second Indian to score a triple century in Test cricket when he scored one against England at Chennai in only his third match in 2016. However, his returns other than that in his six-match career have been underwhelming.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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