For the second consecutive Duleep Trophy match this season, veteran Indian batsman Karun Nair was left out of the South Zone team’s starting lineup. Nair was once again left out of the starting lineup for the final against East Zone after being passed over for the semifinal against North Zone the previous week. The most seasoned member of the current South Zone team, Nair, has played ten Test matches for India. He answered with a century and a direct message.
With ten Test matches for India, Nair is the most seasoned member of the South Zone team. He reacted forcefully to the most recent rejection. Nair played for Secretary XI in a KSCA pre-season warm-up match against Chhattisgarh and scored a century, while his teammates faced East Zone in the Duleep Trophy final.
Nair appeared at the KSCA’s pre-season warm-up game, playing for Secretary XI against Chhattisgarh, and scored a century despite being overlooked for the finale at the Chepauk. With the squad now facing the difficult goal of matching East Zone’s historic 708 over the following three days, the knock highlighted Nair’s form and cast doubt on South Zone’s choice to bench a batsman of his calibre.
After East Zone amassed a huge 708 in the final, South Zone’s decision to leave out a veteran batter was called into doubt by the century, which further demonstrated his current form. In response to a social media post that called his removal “inexplicable,” Nair wrote on X:
Captain Tilak Varma had stated that Nair’s withdrawal from the semifinal match against North Zone was due to a tactical choice, but South Zone did not disclose the reason for keeping him out of the final against East Zone. Kodimela Himateja had been chosen by South Zone to replace him. Tilak cited the opposition attack’s use of left-arm spinners as one of the reasons South Zone chose to replace Nair with Kodimela Himateja.
