“I don’t think he’ll make it to the Champions Trophy squad” - Dinesh Karthik’s massive statement on in-form Indian batter

Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik has issued a massive statement on Karun Nair ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy. Playing for Vidarbha, Nair has been in unbelievable form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, putting himself in contention to make it to India's squad for the upcoming ICC event.

However, Karthik believes the in-form batter will not make it to the Champions Trophy squad despite his heroics in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

“Karun Nair, it’s been unreal to see the form that you’ve been in. Even Mayank Agarwal has been in some really good form. But the beauty is, it’s coming at a stage when the Indian ODI setup is almost ready to go. There can’t be too many changes,” the former Indian cricketer said on Cricbuzz (via Indian Express).

Karun has amassed 752 runs from just seven innings at an astonishing average of 752. Moreover, he has been dismissed only once so far and has blasted five hundreds. He also slammed an unbeaten 88 off just 44 balls in the semi-final against Maharashtra, powering Vidarbha into the final where they will face Karnataka on Saturday, January 18.

Dinesh Karthik added:

"Yes, it’s very tempting to bring a Karun Nair into the setup, and I think he has earned the right to be part of the talks. But I don’t think he’ll make it to the Champions Trophy squad. But if he keeps going like this, why not? A form batter like that who plays fast and spin well, he’s a gun player, and I’m very happy for him."

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"100% he will be in the ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy" - Dinesh Karthik on Yashasvi Jaiswal

Dinesh Karthik expressed confidence that Yashasvi Jaiswal will be picked for the home ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy 2025.

Jaiswal has been rested for the England T20Is after the long tour of Australia. With 391 runs, he was India's most successful batter despite their 3-1 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.

Karthik said resting him was the right choice by the selectors and that missing out on the T20I series would not affect the Indian batter.

“Playing a 5-match series, a Test series is not a joke. I think they (selectors) have done the right thing. 100% he will be in the ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy. Don’t worry. He is batting brilliantly well. These five T20s won’t make a difference to him," Kartik opined in the same interview.