The BCCI recently announced the India A squad for a red-ball series against Australia A. India is set to feature in a total of two games, starting on September 16th at Lucknow.
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India's batter Karun Nair, who was part of India's Test tour to England, has not been included in the side, sparking speculation about his career as a Test cricketer.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has now opened up on Karun's absence from the squad as he reflected on his thoughts over the exclusion.
Karun Nair misses out on India A Tests against Australia
Cricket gave Karun Nair a second chance, but he did not manage to grab it with both hands. Karun featured in 4 Tests against England earlier last month and failed to make it big.
Although he didn't seem to be out of touch and batted well in his short stays at the crease, the man Karnataka failed to score big runs as he ended the series with just one half-century in 8 innings.
The batter is no longer part of India A's squad to face Australia A, leaving fans and experts with many questions.
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Aakash, while talking on his YouTube channel, pointed out that the batter failed to make it big when cricket gave him a chance.
"Karun Nair's absence is a big step. He asked Cricket for another chance, and it was given to him. He had an okay performance, but he did not grab the opportunity with both hands. But, at the same time, you can't just say that it was a very average performance and drop him instantly," said Chopra.
Karun made a comeback to the Indian side after nearly 9 years. He finished the series with a total of 205 runs in 8 innings, at an average of just 25. He is one of the few batters with a triple century in International cricket; however, after that, he did not get many chances for India
Chopra further mentioned that while he expected the batter to feature in the series against the West Indies next month, his exclusion from the A squad has now made it look difficult.
"Karun Nair...I thought would be part of the West Indies tour to India, which includes two Tests...I was just hoping for this to happen, but unfortunately, I don't see it happening now. Karun Nair won't be seen playing (for India) now," added Chopra
The IPL-winning captain, Shreyas Iyer, will lead the India A side, which includes the likes of KL Rahul, Siraj, Dhruv Jurel, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and other key players.
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India A squad for the Australia series
Shreyas Iyer (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran, N Jagadeesan (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (vice-capt, wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey, Ayush Badoni, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar, Yash Thakur, KL Rahul*, Mohammed Siraj*
*only included for the second game.