“You could have taken the spot of KL Rahul & Shreyas Iyer” - Indian legend on Karun Nair’s non-selection for 2025 Champions Trophy

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has offered his opinion regarding the in-form Karun Nair not being considered by the selection committee for the 2025 Champions Trophy. The right-handed batter had a sensational campaign for Vidarbha in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy, but was overlooked for the national squad.

Karun Nair came storming into contention after scoring five hundreds in eight matches, eventually ending with 779 runs at an average of 389.50. The 33-year-old has played two ODIs for India, both during the tour of Zimbabwe in 2016, but was never selected after that.

Sunil Gavaskar opined that Nair's inclusion would have been tricky since India already have two accomplished middle-order batters in KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. The pair have been prolific in the format since the 2023 Asia Cup, and had a dominant 2023 ODI World Cup campaign too.

“Where should they fit him? You could have taken the spot of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. KL will perform the role of second wicketkeeper-batter for this team, and his performance during the 2023 World Cup was good. I don’t think the Indian cricket team has played much ODI cricket after that. Shreyas Iyer has also performed well in the format. That is why Karun Nair has not been picked,” Gavaskar told SportsTak (via Inside Sport).

Nair concluded his prolific campaign with a 27-run knock in the final against Karnataka. Pacer Prasidh Krishna castled the batter in the high-scoring final in Vadodara.

"At the moment, finding a spot in the squad in this team is really difficult" - Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar on Karun Nair's comeback ambitions

Team India named their squad for the Champions Trophy on Saturday, January 18. One of the points raised as an immediate reaction was the absence of Karun Nair despite his imperious form in the format.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar had admitted that the decision to not include the batter was a tough call.

"Yeah, it was tough. Those are really special performances. Someone who averages 700-plus. We did have a chat. 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," Agarkar said in a press conference (via India Today).

"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," he added.

Karun Nair is expected to be seen in the second half of the Ranji Trophy season. Vidharbha, placed first in Elite Group B, will face Rajasthan away from home, beginning from January 23.