Mohammad Kaif says Karun Nair should have been included for West Indies Tests

Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif believes the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel should have included Karun Nair in the Test squad for the two-match series against the West Indies. Nair scored 205 runs in four Test matches against England and thus could not grab his opportunity with both hands.

In his place, the selectors picked Devdutt Padikkal in the squad after the left-hander recently scored 150 runs against Australia A in the first unofficial Test at Lucknow. Kaif recalled that Karun scored a vital knock of 57 runs in a must-win match against England at Kennington Oval in the fifth Test and thus helped India in posting 224 runs on the board.

Eventually, India went on to win that Test by six runs and Kaif said Nair’s contribution was imperative for India to draw the series.

Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube Channel, “Look, I feel I have a bit of a soft corner for him because in that last Test match, it was a really tough pitch and a high-pressure game. If you look at India’s first innings score, his 50 runs were the highest. The next best was around 30. India had scored close to 200 in that innings, and out of that, 50 were from Karun Nair. We veventually won that Test by just six runs. In such a close game, where the margin was only six runs, Karun’s 50 in the first innings was very important.”

“And throughout that series, he was consistently scoring 30-40 runs. But at the same time, Shubman Gill was hitting double centuries, scoring hundreds, breaking records one after another. So, those 30-40 runs didn’t get much value or attention. On that England tour, a 30-40 didn’t seem significant. That’s why his crucial 30-40 runs didn’t get talked about much. But I felt in that difficult match to bat on, when we were under pressure and trailing 2-1 in the series, his contribution was vital. That’s why I think maybe he should have been given one or two more series,” he added.

On the other hand, Kaif questioned the selectors’ call to drop Abhimanyu Easwaran. The Bengal batter was part of the Australia and England tour but didn’t get a chance to make his Test debut.

“I mean, he stays in the Test squad. He becomes the 12th man, goes out to field, but doesn’t get a chance in the playing XI. So, I personally feel that when domestic players perform so well and then finally get their names in the Test squad, the example being set here isn’t right.”

“On one hand, you say that performances in the Ranji Trophy and domestic tournaments matter, that you consider them seriously while picking the Test team, that selections for the XI are based on those performances. Karun’s comeback itself happened because of this because he scored heavily in domestic cricket,” he added.

Easwaran is currently playing for Rest of India against Vidarbha in the Irani Cup at Nagpur.