Shubman Gill drops 'won't be justice' bombshell on Karun Nair's ODI non-selection

India National Cricket Team vice-captain Shubman Gill has finally opened up on the non-selection of the Vidarbha batter Karun Nair in the ODI squad.

Shubman Gill justified the omission of Karun Nair for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England National Cricket Team as well as the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, saying that the batters in the current setup have not done anything wrong to make way for the domestic performer in the squad.

Also Read: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Pat Cummins ruled out, 2 superstars fighting for captaincy

Karun Nair set the stage on fire in the Vijay Hazare Trophy

Karun Nair, who is India's second triple-centurion after Virender Sehwag, was in unbelievable form in the recent edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, a premier domestic 50-over competition in India.

He was brilliant with the bat, and he also did a sensational job as the captain of Vidarbha, steering them to the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy against Karnataka.

Karun Nair registered the scores of 112*, 44*,163*, 111*, 112, 122*, 88*, and 27 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Overall, he scored 779 runs with a staggering average of 389.5.

Unfortunately, Karun Nair was not able to finish his exceptional campaign on a high as Karnataka beat Vidarbha by 36 runs in the final of the tournament to lift the trophy.

Meanwhile, the excellent performances of Karun Nair caught everyone's attention, and several former India cricketers demanded his inclusion in the ODI setup ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

There were reports that the selectors kept their eyes on Nair, but he was not picked in the ODI squad. Speaking to the media, the chief selector Ajit Agarkar called Nair's performance 'insane' but said they couldn't fit everyone in the 15-man squad. However, the chief selector said that his name will be up for discussion if India face any injury issues.

They have performed well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, no doubt on that - Shubman Gill

Speaking at a pre-match press conference ahead of the ODI series against the Jos Buttler-led side, Shubman Gill shared a logical take on Karun Nair's non-selection.

He acknowledged the incredible performances of the batters but said that the batters already present in the national team have also been doing well. He elaborated:

"They have performed well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, no doubt on that. But you also need to consider the fact that the batters who are already in the national side, they have also been doing well.

"The middle order. In the World Cup, they all made 400-450-500 runs. After that, we only played three ODIs as a group. We didn't get a long run.

So I think the players who are there already are performing well - Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill further said that barring the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 final, the Indian batters have been performing consistently in the last few years, and dropping them to fit in a domestic performer would be an injustice.

"In the World Cup also, if you take out the final, the previous two years we have been performing well. So I think the players who are there already are performing well.

"So it is unfortunate that the domestic performers aren't getting a spot. But it won't be justice to the existing players if they are removed just because others are performing in the domestic circuit. If you do that, it won't be possible to build a consistent team."