The former Indian off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh, has been vocal on the ignorance of the inform batter Karun Nair, who has been in sensational touch in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2024-25 with the help of 664 runs in just six innings. The remarkable tally consists of five centuries with an impressive strike rate of 120 for the right-handed batter, as he is the leading run-getter of the tournament.
Harbhajan Singh has spoken in detail about the batter, who became the famous boy of Indian cricket after recording a triple century against England in December 2016 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. It took three more Tests for the board before dropping the batter.
The Jodhpur-born has been part of six Tests for India, where he has smashed 374 runs at an average of 62.33. He also featured in two one-day internationals for 46 runs in 2016 against Zimbabwe. The fans and a few of the former players have desired to see the back returning to the international circuit through the Champions Trophy 2025.
“I‘m looking at his stats. In 2024/25, he played six innings, remained not out in 5, scoring 664, and that was his average. And he’s played at a strike rate of 120. And they don’t pick him. It’s unfair.” Harbhajan Singh expressed this in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
The Chandigarh-born questioned the criteria of section for the two giants of not only Indian cricket but world cricket, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The former smashed 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20, while Kohli drilled 190 runs in nine innings at 23.75 during the recent Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
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Both of these batters have been pushed to play in the Ranji Trophy due to their bad form, but those performing in the domestic tournaments are not being rewarded.
In 2024, Nair enjoyed huge success in first-class cricket, shouldering on 1466 runs at an average of 44.42, as he celebrated four centuries and seven fifties with the highest score of unbeaten 202 runs. He was also part of the county championship in the last season with Northamptonshire to collect 487 runs in seven affairs at an average of 48.70, shouldering on one century and three fifties.
“Many are selected based on just two games, some are just selected basis the IPL. So, why are the rules different for him? People say Rohit and Virat are out of form, and you’re sending them to Ranji. But those who are playing Ranji and scoring runs. Why are you ignoring them? When will these guys play? They are scoring runs here.” Harbhajan Singh highlighted in the video.
The Punjab spinner didn’t hold back from stating the different rules for different players. He wondered if the absence of tattoos and fancy clothes was one of the reasons behind the exclusion of the batter from the national side.
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“He went to England with the team but didn’t get a game. For the fifth Test, they flew a player from India, I think it was Hanuma Vihari, and he played the Test instead of Nair. Give me the reason for this. Does it make sense?” Harbhajan Singh shed light.
“Different rules for different people that shouldn’t be the way. When they are scoring runs, you need to play him, right? He doesn’t have tattoos, and doesn’t wear fancy clothes, is that the reason you’re not picking him? Does he not work hard?” Harbhajan Singh concluded.