“Made It Clear What Thinking Was”: Karun Nair On Ajit Agarkar’s Selection Snub Statement

Unarguably the most in-form Indian batter from the domestic spectrum, Vidarbha star Karun Nair made heads turn with his unthinkable performances in Vijay Hazare Trophy. With a whopping 752 runs under his belt in just 7 innings, Nair made arguably the loudest call for national selection that anyone in modern times has witnessed. But, the competition for places in the Indian team is such that the veteran batter couldn’t find a spot in the Indian team for the ODI series against England or the ICC Champions Trophy.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar was asked about the decision to snub Nair for the 50-over format despite the batter doing so well in List A cricket. Agarkar made it clear that he ‘can’t fit everyone’ in the team.

“At the moment, finding a spot in the squad in this team is really difficult. Look at the guys who have been picked. All average well in excess of mid-40s. Unfortunately, you can’t fit everyone in a squad of 15. But those performances certainly make you take notice. If there is a loss of form (for a player) or injuries, there’s certainly going to be a conversation around him,” Agarkar had said during a press briefing back then.

When Karun Nair was asked about this statement from Nair, he thanked the chief selector for keeping things crystal clear for him as well as other players in his category.

“It was good to see that a clear statement was given, and I think he made it very clear that, you know, what their thinking was, which makes it easier for the player to understand where he needs to go and what he needs to do. For me at least, it is just about focusing on the next match and focusing on winning the Ranji Trophy at the moment,” Karun Nair said in an interview with RevSportz.

The 33-year-old gave a sneek-peak into his approach, saying he has been working hard for the past 3-4 years, with only one objective in his mind, which is to earn a recall to the national team.

“I have been batting the same way for the past 16-18 months. It was just about replicating whatever I was doing well, which I was fortunate enough to do over a consistent period. I have not made any changes to anything. It’s just 3-4 years of hard work on a consistent basis, going through the same process every single day, waking up every single day with one single thing in your head to go out there and play for your country. So, I think it’s all the 3-4 years of hard work or many more years of hard work that is coming into existence now,” Nair asserted.