Karun Nair's dream of India return after eight years washed away by team dynamics

Mumbai: Karun Nair scored upwards of 700 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Legendary Sachin Tendulkar made a supportive social media post. But none of it helped. His dream of donning the Indian jersey again after eight years was dashed by a rigid set of team dynamics. When the national selectors led by Ajit Agarkar and skipper Rohit Sharma sat together to pick India’s squads for the Champions Trophy and the ODIs against England, they could find a proper spot for the 33-year-old Vidarbha captain.

Questions will be asked about the relevance for scoring heavily in domestic cricket if a player does not get selected on that count, and about the honesty of the team management’s decision to place significance on domestic matches.

But in truth, as Agarkar explained, it was indeed tough to include Karun in a squad of 15 in the current situation.

“Yeah, it is tough. Those are really special performances. I mean, someone who averages — 700-plus, 750-plus. We did have a chat (about Karun),” Agarkar said in the press meet to announce the Indian squads here on Saturday.

“But at the moment, to find a spot in this team is very difficult. I mean, look at the guys who've been picked. All average well in excess of mid-40s.

“So, unfortunately, you can't fit everyone in. It's a squad of 15. But those performances (like Karun) certainly make you take notice,” he added.

So, what precisely is the team combination that Agarkar was talking about? In domestic cricket, Karun bats the highest at No. 3, and at times, comes at either No. 4 or 5, depending on the conditions.

However, those slots in the Indian team are occupied by Virat Kohli, a titan in one-dayers, Shreyas Iyer, who averages close to 50 in ODIs, and either KL Rahul, a proven, flexible 50-over batter who also keep wickets, or Rishabh Pant, an explosive left-handed batter and the first-choice stumper-batter.

In this particular squad selection, the management also wanted to include as many all-rounders as possible, hence Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar got the nod.

Rest of the positions were filled by the bowlers, as Karun will now have to wait for some more time to make a comeback.

Agarkar did not rule out that possibility. “If there is tomorrow a loss of form or injuries (to other players), there'll certainly be a conversation around him,” he said.

For that while, Karun will have to sit among the domestic stalwarts, who could not break into the team for various reasons.

Names are plenty too: Padmakar Shivalkar (589 First-Class wickets, 124 matches), Rajinder Goel (750 FC wickets, 157 matches), Kanwaljit Singh (668 FC wickets, 111 matches), Amol Muzumdar (11167 FC runs, 171 matches), Jalaj Saxena (6834 runs, 464 wickets, 145 matches).

Karun can at least take solace from the fact that he has six Tests and two ODI caps against his name unlike the aforementioned worthies.

But as someone who fought against odds and perceptions all through his career, Karun will not let this blip keep him down.

“The dream is always to play for the country. That’s the reason we play this game, to play for your country.

“So, the one and only goal was to play for the country. So, yes, the dream is still alive,” Karun had told PTI a day ahead of the selection.

Karun’s future journey will depend on how bright he keeps that flame flickering.