For those who follow the Indian domestic cricket circuit, you’d know that the Vijay Hazare Trophy is the premier List A (50-over) tournament in the country, which is a stepping stone for progress to the Indian ODI side. Perform here and you’re fast-tracking to the national side, and that’s exactly what Vidarbha’s captain tried to do at the VHT 2025 tournament.
We’re talking about Karun Nair who has had a phenomenal white ball tournament, one that will be remembered for many years to come. His numbers are stunning and that includes 5 centuries in 7 games during the ongoing VHT 2025 season, before the final where he leads his team against Karnataka on 18th Jan 2025.
Karun Nair ignored for 2025 Champions Trophy
The final was being played on the same day that India announced their squad for the Champions Trophy 2025, which takes place in Pakistan and UAE. ICC Champions Trophy returns after 8 years and this outstanding form in the 50-over format was Nair’s chance to return to the Indian side as well, having last played an ODI 9 years ago.
Who was the last one before him to dominate like this in a domestic tournament?
His stats are actually unreal!!!!
This performance will be remembered for ages!!#VijayHazareTrophy | Karun Nairpic.twitter.com/NqYrdxhEHe— Kshitij (@Kshitij45__) January 18, 2025
He played 2 ODIs for India in 2016 against Zimbabwe, where he scored 46 runs. His last Test match for India was also in 2017 and one wouldn’t really count him in contention when it comes to Indian team selection. You’d think that you can’t ignore a stunning average of 752 runs in 7 innings in the format, but that’s exactly what happened today in the team selection press conference.
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Indian captain Rohit Sharma took the press conference seat along with selector and former Indian bowler, Ajit Agarkar. No one came close to Nair’s run scoring tally in VHT 2025, and his average was untouchable too. Please keep in mind that he scored these runs at a strike rate of 126 too; he’s not been knocking the doors but trying to bang them down of late.
In the build up to the press conference, we heard experts consider many players include Mohammed Shami, Nitish Reddy, Shreyas Iyer, and others. Unfortunately, we didn’t hear a word from any expert about Karun Nair. If you score 752 runs and get dismissed once in 7 matches in this format, we’re not sure what more needs to be done to get a spot in Team India, for Karun Nair.
Will Karun Nair make the Champions Trophy squad?#ChampionsTrophy #ICCChampionsTrophy2025 #TeamIndia #Cricket #KarunNair
— Read Scoops (@ReadScoops) January 18, 2025
We ran a poll on Twitter (now X) to see if fans want Karun Nair in the squad and you can see the results above too. Even cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar took to X to talk about this fabulous batting from Nair, saying, “Scoring 752 runs in 7 innings with 5 centuries is nothing short of extraordinary, @karun126”
Scoring 752 runs in 7 innings with 5 centuries is nothing short of extraordinary, @karun126. Performances like these don’t just happen, they come from immense focus and hard work. Keep going strong and make every opportunity count!
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 17, 2025
🚨 INDIA SQUAD FOR CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2025 🚨
Rohit (C), Gill (VC), Kohli, Iyer, Rahul, Hardik, Axar, Sundar, Kuldeep, Bumrah, Shami, Arshdeep, Jaiswal, Pant, Jadeja. pic.twitter.com/uvY5gc4du9
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 18, 2025
No real surprises came along with the ICC Champions Trophy squad selection. Jasprit Bumrah was included, even though we’re sweating his fitness and medical condition. So, Harshit Rana was asked to travel as a reserve with the squad, while Shubman Gill was named vice-captain of the side.
NO KARUN NAIR.
Ajit Agarkar said, “averaging 750+ is simply insane, but it’s a squad of 15, so we can’t fit everyone”. pic.twitter.com/nC8feDmRom
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 18, 2025
The press also asked about Karun Nair and Agarkar mentioned it was special to see his performances and it was difficult to find a spot for him in the squad. Tough call he said, and those performances certainly guaranteed a conversation around Nair. For similar cricketing updates from around the world, remember to always stay tuned to ReadScoops.com.
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