He should have gotten another chance – Ajinkya Rahane on Karun Nair

India’s veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane said Karun Nair should have gotten another chance in India’s Test team. Nair played for the country after almost eight years but could not grab his opportunity with both hands on the England tour.

In four Test matches, the right-hander scored 205 runs in four Test matches at an average of 25.62. Nair had scored a crucial fifty (57) in the first innings of the final Test match at the Kennington Oval in difficult batting conditions and thus played a key role in India’s six-run win.

But Nair was overlooked for the two-match home Test series against the West Indies as the selectors decided to give a long run to young Sai Sudharsan at number three.

Nair returned with scores of 73 and 8 in the Ranji Trophy clash against Saurashtra.

“We have seen it in the last two-three series; Karun Nair performed consistently in domestic cricket, won matches and was rewarded with a Test call-up. Though I think he should have gotten another chance. You also spoke about Abhimanyu Easwaran. He has also performed well in domestic cricket for years and scored runs with a good average. But he has not made his debut yet. I am sure it will happen soon,” Rahane said in a video shared on X.

On the other hand, former Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara said Test call-ups should depend on performances in the domestic circuit.

“When players perform well in domestic cricket, they deserve to be rewarded. If a player performs well in domestic cricket and then gets picked in the Test team, it encourages them, and I believe that this should continue and the Test team’s selection should be purely on the basis of performance in domestic cricket,” Pujara said.

India’s Test team will next take on South Africa in a home series.