Karun Nair responded to a second straight Duleep Trophy snub with a century in Bengaluru on Monday, before posting a pointed message on X after being left out of South Zone’s final against East Zone.
Nair, who has played 10 Tests for India, made 104 off 183 balls, with 12 fours and a six, for KSCA Secretary’s XI against Chhattisgarh in the Dr (Capt) K Thimmappaiah Memorial Tournament at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The century came on the same day Nair was once again overlooked by South Zone, who are facing East Zone in the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai. East Zone posted a mammoth 708 in their first innings, with Ishan Kishan scoring 270.
Nair had also been left out of South Zone’s semifinal against North Zone last week. The veteran batter is the most experienced player in the current South Zone squad and has scored 699 runs for Karnataka in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season.
Reacting to a social media post that described his exclusion as “inexplicable”, Nair wrote on X: “Inexplicable would be an understatement.”
South Zone coach Vikram Verma explained that the team combination was behind Nair’s omission from the semifinal.
“Actually, we went with a good combination because every team has two left-hand spinners. So, we thought a left-hand batter in the middle order would give us a good chance to dominate them,” Verma said.
“So again, we thought about what is best for the team. Now since Devdutt Padikkal has come back, the team combination matter was there. It is very difficult to miss him (Karun) out, but that’s the combination we have.”
Nair had left the South Zone camp for Bengaluru on Sunday evening. Verma had attributed his absence to personal reasons.
“He went back due to personal reasons at home. He mailed us and took the permission for his travel due to family reasons,” he said.
Nair’s appearance for Secretary’s XI in Bengaluru, however, came as he continued to be left out of South Zone’s Duleep Trophy campaign.
Kodimela Himateja had replaced Nair in the semifinal, but failed to score in the match. He was subsequently dropped for the final, with Devdutt Padikkal returning to the XI.
Nair’s century ensured Secretary’s XI finished the opening day of their match against Chhattisgarh on 277 for 9 after 90 overs.
The knock also came at a time when South Zone were struggling to contain East Zone’s batting. With 708 already on the board, South face a daunting task in the final, although Verma insisted his team remained in the contest.
“Our plan is to play session by session and build partnerships so that we bat five sessions from now, so that we can chase it (East’s total of 708) down,” he said.
– Ends
