Karun Nair has been in the headlines when he clinched his maiden triple hundred in the final test at Chennai against England last December.
However, he could just become the second player ever in the history of test cricket to be dropped after scoring a 300 in a test match. Indian captain Virat Kohli has put an end to all the rumours surrounding Ajinkya Rahane’s place in the test side as he backed Jinx to be a starter against Bangladesh tomorrow.
“See, I feel one game doesn’t overshadow two years of hard work from another player. You need to understand what ‘Jinx’ (nickname) has done for the team over the past two years. He averages almost 50 in the format and he is probably most solid batsman in our team in the Test format,” said Kohli as he ended speculation on who will bat at No.5.
There has been a lot of news about who could play at No.5 as Karun Nair ahs made the most out of the opportunities he got in the absence of Rahane. However, the youngster might very well need to wait for a while to get another chance as the team is filled up with talent in all the departments at the moment.
“Karun was stepping into his (Rahane’s) shoes and what he did was remarkable, sealing his spot as far as the squad is concerned. That was something that Karun did. As I said you can’t overlook Ajinkya’s two years of hard work on basis of one Test match. He (Rahane) deserves to walk back into the team whenever he got fit. That’s my take on it,” he said.
The only other player who was dropped after scoring a triple hundred in the previous test was Englishman Andy Sandham, who scored 325 against West Indies at Kingston in 1925. However, the Englishman has never played a test match after that game as he was 40 when he scored the triple hundred.
Should Karun Nair be dropped against Bangladesh, he will yet again achieve another rare record which he might not cherish much despite playing well in the chances he got.