Duleep Trophy: Karun Nair terms omission as 'inexplicable' as South Zone coach cites 'personal reasons'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Duleep Trophy: Karun Nair terms omission as 'inexplicable' as South Zone coach cites 'personal reasons'")
Karun Nair is only Indian batter with a triple ton in Tests apart from Virender Sehwag Photograph: (AFP)
Veteran batter Karun Nair hinted at selection discrepancies after being dropped from South Zone's Duleep Trophy final XI, publicly disputing coach Vikram Verma's claims of personal reasons.
Karun Nair, the veteran Indian cricketer who plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket, has insinuated selection discrepancies regarding the South Zone team setup in the ongoing Duleep Trophy. Nair was part of the South Zone squad but did not feature in the playing XI for the semi-final against North Zone. He was subsequently left out of the final against East Zone as well. The batter left the squad after his exclusion from the final and promptly scored a century for KSCA Secretary’s XI at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in the Dr. (Capt) K. Thimmappaiah Memorial Tournament, which marks the beginning of Karnataka's red-ball preparations.
Why isn't Karun Nair playing the Duleep Trophy final?
After East Zone were bowled out for a mammoth 708 runs in their first innings on Day 2 (Sep 7), South Zone coach Vikram Verma explained why Nair was not included in the playing XI:
"He [Nair] left due to personal reasons," Verma said. "So he left for home after emailing and taking permission. Actually, we went with a tactical combination because the opposition has two left-arm spinners. We thought a left-handed batter in the middle order would offer a better chance to dominate them. So again, we chose what was best for the team.
"In the first match [against North Zone], we gave a chance to youngster Himateja Kodimela. Now, since [Devdutt] Padikkal has returned, the team combination demanded that setup. It was difficult to leave him [Nair] out, but that's the combination we went with."
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What did Karun Nair say about his omission?
Nair appeared unconvinced by the coach's perspective regarding his exclusion from two consecutive Duleep Trophy matches. Responding to a social media post discussing his omission, Nair posted: "Inexplicable would be an understatement."
During the 2025/26 Ranji Trophy season, Nair enjoyed a prolific run, scoring 699 runs across 13 innings in nine matches—including two centuries and three fifties at an average of 58 with a top score of 233.
