New Delhi: Senior batter Karun Nair made his Test comeback for India after seven years as the selectors announced India’s squad for their upcoming Test series against England. Nair was rewarded for his incredible heroics in the domestic circuit as he was selected in the 18-man Test squad over Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan. Sarfaraz ended up getting snubbed from the squad despite having done little wrong in the limited opportunities he has gotten so far in the longest format.
Many expected Sarafaraz to make it to the squad after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their retirements from Test cricket, leaving a huge vacuum in the batting line-up. Sarfaraz was training hard for the England series and reportedly lost up to 10kg in a bid to be prepared for the challenging tour. However, the 27-year-old right-hander failed to make the cut.
Sarfaraz, who made his Test debut in the home series against England last year, has scored 371 runs in six Test matches for India at an average of nearly 40 in his career. He smashed a brilliant 150-run knock against New Zealand in the Bengaluru Test last year, but didn’t get a lot of chances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia despite being part of the squad.
Explaining the decision to pick Nair over Sarfaraz, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said they wanted to have someone experienced in the middle order after Kohli’s retirement. Agarakar also admitted that the decisions made by the selection panel might be unfair on a few individuals, considering the amount of competition in Indian cricket.
“It’s fair on somebody, it’s unfair on someone else. At the moment, he (Karun Nair) has scored heaps of runs. He has played a bit of county cricket,” Ajit Agarkar said at the press conference after announcing India’s Test squad for the England series in Mumbai on Saturday.
“Sometimes you just have to make good decisions. Sarfaraz, I know he got a 100 in the first Test (against New Zealand) and then didn’t get runs. Sometimes these are decisions the team management takes. At the moment, Karun has scored heaps of runs in domestic, has played a bit of Test cricket, played a bit of county cricket. With Virat not there, clearly we’re lacking a bit of experience. We felt his experience could help,” he added.
Karun Nair’s domestic toil pays off
Nair made his return to India’s Test squad for the first time since 2018 on the back of a stellar show for his team Vidarbha in the domestic circuit. Karun turned heads with his impressive run for Vidarbha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 earlier this year, where he finished as the highest run-getter with a whopping 779 runs in 8 innings at a stunning average of 389.50, including five centuries.
Nair also did well for Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy, where he notched up 863 runs in 16 innings at an average of over 50, with the help of four centuries and two fifties. Nair also played for Northamptonshire in the County Championship, where he smashed a double century against Glamorgan. The 33-year-old will be hoping to make the most of the opportunity in England and cement his place in India’s Test squad.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained why Sarfaraz Khan was snubbed from India’s Test squad for the upcoming tour of England. Karun Nair made the cut into the squad over Sarfaraz. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
