Tharoor bats for Karun Nair, says Vidarbha star’s India recall is a no-brainer
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There is a clamour to include ace batter Karun Nair in the India set-up after he guided Vidarbha to victory in the Ranji Trophy final against Kerala.
The Bengaluru-Malayali had a fabulous domestic season, scoring nine centuries across all formats, including four in the Ranji Trophy. The 33-year-old made 86 in the first innings, and added a brilliant 135 in the second innings in the final, in which Vidarbha edged Kerala for their third title.
Former India pacer Dodda Ganesh was among the first to call for Karun's recall to Team India. "Come on, cricket gods! Our boy has done all the hard work and scored runs aplenty. Please give him an opportunity to make a comeback," posted Ganesh, a fellow Bengaluru native, on X.
Karun made his ODI debut in 2016 and also got to the Test squad the same year. He famously scored a triple hundred in his third Test, but then he vanished from the national scene.
The latest to call for Karun's recall is Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is an ardent cricket fan. Tharoor listed out Karun's performances this season and said: "Inexplicably, he has been overlooked by India since, while averaging over 60 in Test cricket and just a tad under 50 in first class cricket. Current form? In the 2024/25 season, Karun Nair scored 863 runs in the Ranji Trophy and 779 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with nine hundreds. It has to be a no-brainer for the selectors to recall him for the tour of England after his mind-boggling run of scores this season."
The Congress leader from Thiruvananthapuram made sure to tag Ajit Agarkar, chairman of BCCI's selection committee, and Gautam Gambhir, the Indian men's team head coach.
Karun's incredible first-class campaign was bettered only by the great Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. In the 1994-95 season, Tendulkar scored ten first-class centuries, while Laxman, another Indian cricket icon, hit nine tons in 1999-00.
In December 2022, Karun put out a tweet that went viral. "Dear cricket, give me one more chance," he posted back then, his fingers crossed. India will fly to England for a five-match Test series in June-July.