No Place For Karun Nair In Champions Trophy Squad
According to the latest report by India Today, that despite a stellar performance in domestic cricket, Karun Nair is, however, set to be a sidelined for India at the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025. The announcement regarding the 15-player Indian team will be made at a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday by the BCCI selection committee, committed by chief selector Ajit Agarkar. The selections will be made on Saturday, with a meeting scheduled to take place at 12 PM IST, while the announcement will be made at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai at around 2 PM.
However, Karun Nair’s dream return is courtesy of its sensational batting performance in the ongoing VHT, where Nair scored 752 runs in just seven innings, with a scintillating average of 752, to lead Vidarbha to the title clash versus Karnataka. The 33-year-old batter struck five hundreds with scores of 112, 44, 163, 111, 112, 122, 88, and only one dismissal.
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He has also gone on to break the record for the most runs scored by a captain in the history of the domestic 50-over tournament. Nair has surpassed the total number of 660 runs compiled by Ruturaj Gaikwad from Maharashtra during the 2022–23 season.
According to insiders, the selectors believe it would be foolish to return to 33-year-old Karun Nair. It will be challenging for the Karnataka batsman to fit into the middle-order in India’s current ODI lineup. He played two ODIs in 2016 while on tour in Zimbabwe.
In addition to scoring a ton of runs in the T20 format, Nair was selected by the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2024 auction. In 12 games during the 2024–25 Maharaja T20 Trophy, Nair scored 560 runs at a remarkable average of 56.00. His highest score was 124, and he received a total of 105. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Nair has amassed 255 runs at an average of 42.50, with three half-century innings at a strike rate of 177
Although Nair played his last match for India in 2017, his current batting success has raised expectations for a return to the national team. India will play England in a three-match ODI series prior to the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will begin in Dubai and Pakistan on February 19.
