Hours after his omission from Team India's squad for the Champions Trophy, Vidarbha captain Karun Nair's dream run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy came to an end with a 27-run knock in the final against Karnataka. Nair, who had scored 752 runs in seven matches in the run-up to the final, was undone by an excellent delivery from pacer Prasidh Krishna. Nair was beaten from all sides as the ball stayed low and returned sharply to rattle the stumps.
Big wicket
Prasidh Krishna gets the crucial wicket of Karun Nair #VijayHazareTrophy @IDFCFIRSTBank
Scorecard https://t.co/ZZjfWXaajB pic.twitter.com/0D0CUIyuYO
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 18, 2025
Nair's dismissal reduced Vidarbha to 88/2 while chasing 349 against Karnataka in the final.
Earlier, Ravichandran Smaran smashed a century to take Karnataka to 348/6 in 50 overs.
Krishnan Shrijith and Abhinav Manohar also scored half-centuries to propel Karnataka to a big total.
Meanwhile, Nair's omission from the Champions Trophy squad will raise questions about the relevance of scoring in domestic cricket.
BCCI selection committee head Ajit Agarkar admitted that it was indeed difficult to include Karun in a squad of 15 in the current situation.
“Yes, it is difficult. Those are really special achievements. I mean, someone with an average of – 700-plus, 750-plus. We did talk for a while (about Karun),” Agarkar said during the press meet for the Indian teams to announce. here on Saturday.
“But right now it's very difficult to find a spot on this team. I mean, look at the guys that have been picked. They're all averaging well over forty.
“So unfortunately you can't fit everyone in. It's a squad of 15. But those performances (like Karun's) definitely make you stand out,” he added.
So, what exactly is the team combination Agarkar was talking about? In domestic cricket, Karun bats highest at number 3, and sometimes at number 4 or 5 depending on the circumstances.
However, these places in the Indian team are occupied by Virat Kohli, a titan in one-dayers, Shreyas Iyer, who averages almost 50 in ODIs, and KL Rahul, a proven, flexible 50-over batsman who also keeps wickets, or Rishabh Pant , an explosive left-handed hitter and the first-choice stumper hitter.
(With PTI inputs)
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