Chairman of Selectors, MSK Prasad, suggests it was the best time to give another chance to Karun Nair

The BCCI selection committee, headed by MSK Prasad, decided to axe Rohit Sharma from the Test squad and brought back triple centurion Karun Nair, who was not looked at, post the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

Nair is coming on the back of a successful stint at Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy, where he amassed 600 runs to his name in the season.

“This was the best opportunity for us to give Karun a chance because he’s been doing well,” said Chairman of Selectors MSK Prasad told PTI.

After persisting with Rohit Sharma, who consistently struggled during the South African tour, the board decided to give Karun Nair back his spot who shred off his poor run of form, post the triple century at Chennai against England.

Also, Test specialists Murali Vijay, Mohammed Shami will be playing a couple of matches before taking on the England team.

“We did discuss, had a meeting with Virat, Ravi and Rahul. Some of the Test specialists like Saha, Vijay and Shami will play the third India ‘A’ Test against West Indies A before playing the warm-up game against Essex and then the England Tests,” quoted Prasad.

India’s talismanic wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni continued to receive backing from MSK Prasad, claiming that he still is the first choice in the country.

“Yes, we are working towards it. We have tried six wicketkeepers for India A during the past few months. We are rotating and preparing them for the next level,” said Prasad when asked about the preparedness of backup to MS Dhoni.

Continuing the pattern since the Champions Trophy last year, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin still have no place in the Indian squad. The selectors, as usual, persisted with the wrist spinning successful duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

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Ravi Ashwin and Jadeja overlooked again

“When they were excluded, we made it clear that two-three youngsters would be given the opportunity. It made sense to give them a long rope,” Prasad claimed.

The two young wrist spinners ripped apart the South Africans at their own soil. Therefore, both Ashwin and Jadeja mustn’t keep their hopes high regarding their spot at the World Cup of 2019.

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“If you see the wickets they’ve (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal) taken, it’s heartening. They’ve kept improving game after game, so it makes sense to continue with them when they’re winning games both home and abroad,” added the former Indian cricketer.

In conclusion, the selection panel head confirmed that the domestic heavyweights from the season, Mayank Agarwal, Prasidh Krishna, Rajneesh Gurbani, would be rewarded for their show.