Talk Now, Selectors? Karun Nair Racks Up 73 & Now 100 After Brutal India Axing

Less than a month after his brutal axing from the Indian Test team, Karun Nair has answered the selectors in the best fashion imaginable, making his bat talk.

10 days back, in the opening round of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, Nair hit 73 & 8 in what was his first match for Karnataka after his successful Vidarbha stint. Today, he followed up the 73 with an even better performance as the 33-year-old hit a sublime ton against Goa in Shimoga with his team under considerable pressure. 

Asked to bat, Karnataka were teetering at 65/4, with Arjun Tendulkar taking two of the wickets to fall. That soon turned into 128/5, with Arjun taking a third, and Karnataka were in serious danger of being bundled out cheaply at home on the very first day. 

However, a steadfast Nair stood firm and piled on the runs to get his side out of harm’s way. He got to his ton today in the first session of day two, making it a 25th hundred in first-class cricket. 

It was a special knock from Nair as, among all the top five batters, no one except him managed to cross the 30-run mark. In fact, three of the top five batters perished for single-digit scores. 

Through this stellar start, Nair has done his chances of a Test recall no harm. He was dropped for the two-Test series against West Indies but he could very well get picked for the South Africa Tests next month, should there be an injury to one of the specialist batters. 

The squad for the two-Test series against South Africa will likely be announced sometime next week.