ICC Champions Trophy 2025: 'Karun Nair won't make it to India's CT squad'

India and Vidarbha batter Karun Nair is in some really good form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (India's domestic 50-over tournament). Nair currently has a staggering average of 752 in the tournament and has been dismissed just once.

His consistency has prompted the national selectors to think about including him in India's Champions Trophy squad. However, former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik has other thoughts and feels that the squad for the Champions Trophy is almost ready to go.

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Dinesh Karthik breaks silence on Karun Nair's inclusion in Champions Trophy

During a segment on Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik shed light on Karun Nair's recent batting form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and was highly impressed by him. However, he feels that India's ODI squad is almost ready and it won't see any surprise changes, thus ruling out the possibility to include Nair.

“Karun Nair, it’s been unreal to see the form that you’ve been in. Even Mayank Agarwal has been in some really good form. But the beauty is, it’s coming at a stage when the Indian ODI setup is almost ready to go. There can’t be too many changes,” Karthik said.

Karthik feels that Nair has prompted the selectors to think about him for the Champions Trophy. However, he didn't rule out the possibility given he is a great player of both pace and spin.

“Yes, it’s very tempting to bring a Karun Nair into the setup, and I think he has earned the right to be part of the talks. But I don’t think he’ll make it to the Champions Trophy squad," Karthik observed.

“But if he keeps going like this, why not? A form batter like that who plays fast and spin well, he’s a gun player, and I’m very happy for him,” he added.

Karun Nair's insane numbers in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025

Karun Nair has scored 752 runs in seven innings so far at an average of 752 and at an unbelievable strike rate of 125.96. In eight matches, he has scored five hundreds and one fifty.

In the only innings when he didn't score a fifty, he struck an unbeaten 44 against Chhattisgarh. It is also his lowest score of the season so far. He recently scored 88 off just 44 balls in the semi-final against Maharashtra to guide Vidarbha into the final.

Vidarbha will now face Karnataka, Nair's former domestic team, in the final. Karun Nair has looked extremely fluent throughout the tournament against both the pacers and the spinners. He has used all his experience and made a strong claim to be a part of India's Champions Trophy squad.

India's schedule in Champions Trophy 2025

India will begin its Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against Bangladesh on February 19 ar Dubai. The Men in Blue will then face Pakistan in a high-voltage clash on February 23 on the same ground.

India's final match will be against New Zealand on March 2. India will play all its matches in Dubai in the tournament hosted in a hybrid model. The Indian government didn't allow the BCCI to send their team to Pakistan.