Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra said Karun Nair’s non-selection for the India A series against Australia A is a big step. Nair was recently given his second chance on the tour of England but he failed to grab his chance with both hands.
Nair scored 205 runs in four Test matches at an average of 25.62 against England. The 33-year-old got off to starts in the first three Test matches but failed to convert them into substantial scores. Nair scored a crucial fifty in the fifth Test match at Kennington Oval in the first innings.
“Karun Nair not being there is a big step. He asked cricket for a second chance, and it was given as well. I would say his performance was okay-okay. You can’t say that he grabbed that chance with both hands, but you can’t also say his performance was very ordinary either, that you should drop him suddenly,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The renowned commentator highlighted that Nair might not get his chance in the home series against the West Indies.
“He was moved up and down in the batting order, was sent at No. 3 and No. 6. Despite that, he scored a few runs, but got out in some places. I felt he would get a chance in the West Indies tour of India. Unfortunately, you might not see Karun Nair playing now,” he observed.
Meanwhile, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan have been picked for the India A series but Chopra noted that the duo is competing for a single spot in the Test team.
“Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan will get opportunities and both need to score runs. Since Sai Sudharsan is coming after playing in the current team, you feel he is slightly ahead in the race, but he is not that far ahead. Abhimanyu Easwaran is there, but he never gets a play, so that goes against him,” he said.
Chopra feels Easwaran can get ahead of Sudharsan if he scores runs against Australia A.
“However, the one thing that is in Abhimanyu Easwaran’s favor is that the selectors have said they want to keep him for sure, as he is consistent. He is not someone who has been dropped even from India A. If he scores runs here, he could run ahead of Sai Sudharsan. It’s a race between them,” Chopra observed.
India A squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran, N Jagadeesan (WK), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (VC & WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey, Ayush Badoni, Nitish Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar, Yash Thakur
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