Karun Nair’s non-selection in Duleep Trophy final sparks controversy

CHENNAI: On the same day when East Zone took South Zone for a ride at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, smashing 708, South Zone’s seasoned batter Karun Nair smashed a stellar 104 off 183 deliveries against Chhattisgarh in Dr (Capt) K Thimmappaiah Memorial Tournament at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Till the eve of the Duleep Trophy final, Nair was still part of the South Zone training sessions, and later on Sunday, day one of the final, it is learnt from close sources that the batter flew back to Bengaluru.

After the conclusion of the second day’s play, South Zone’s head coach Vikram Verma revealed that the 34-year-old went back home due to personal reasons.

"No, he [Nair] went [home] with the personal reasons," Verma said. "So he left for his home, he mailed and took the permission.

Ironically, however, the 34-year-old put on a post on X, “inexplicable would be an understatement,” in response to a post puzzled with his non-selection in the South Zone setup. Verma maintained that the decision was taken in the ‘best interest of the team’ to tackle East Zone’s bowling unit.

"Actually, we went with a good combination because every team has two left-arm spinners. So we thought a left-hand batter in the middle order would give a chance to dominate them. So again, we thought [of] what is best for the team.

"And [in the] first match [against North Zone], we gave a chance to a youngster [Kodimela] Himateja. Now since [Devdutt] Padikkal has come back again, so again the team combination was that. So [it] was difficult to miss him [Nair] out, but that's the combination we have."

The Duleep Trophy squads were picked by selectors from each state association within that zone, not by the national selectors.