Why Karun Nair, why not Sarfaraz Khan? Chief selector explains big England tour call

For Karun Nair, May 24 was a special day. It marked his return to the Test fold for the first time since the tour of England in 2018. The Karnataka batter was picked in India's 18-man squad for the five-Test series against England, starting on May 24. However, for Sarfaraz Khan, it was a heartbreaking moment as the young Mumbai batter was left out despite not having done anything wrong in the limited opportunities he got to represent the team in whites.

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Chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained the decision to not consider Sarfaraz Khan for the tour of England, acknowledging that the decisions made by the selection committee in a competitive environment like the Indian cricket setup might turn out to be unfair on certain individuals.

Sarfaraz Khan made his debut against England at home in 2024. He went on to play six Tests and scored 371 runs at an average of close to 40. Sarfaraz hit a hundred in the series opener against New Zealand at home. However, he struggled for runs in the remainder of the series, which India lost 0-3.

The Mumbai batter was not considered for overseas tours, including the five-Test series in Australia.

On the other hand, Karun Nair has forced his way back to the Test side on the back of a supremely consistent run in domestic cricket over the last two-three yeas.

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"It's fair on somebody, it's unfair on someone else. At the moment, he (Karun Nair) has scored heaps of runs. He has played a bit of county cricket," Ajit Agarkar said after announcing India's 18-man squad on Saturday.

Only recently, Sarfaraz lost 10kg in a bid to keep himself ready for the tour of England. The Mumbai batter was working hard on his fitness in the off-season, making the most of the time away from the IPL 2025 season.

HOW KOHLI'S RETIREMENT INFLUENCED KARUN'S SELECTION

Agarkar added that India needed an experienced bat in the middle-order in the absence of Virat Kohli, who retired from the format on May 12.

"Sometimes you just have to make good decisions. Sarfaraz, I know he got a 100 in the first Test (against New Zealand) and then didn't get runs. Sometimes these are decisions the team management takes. At the moment, Karun has scored heaps of runs in domestic, has played a bit of Test cricket, played a bit of county cricket. With Virat not there, clearly we're lacking a bit of experience. We felt his experience could help," he added.

Karun scored 690 runs in 10 matches in the 2023-24 season for Vidarbha. He played a pivotal role in Vidarbha’s triumph in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25, being the fourth-highest run scorer of the season. He accumulated 863 runs from 16 innings at an average of 53.93, registering four hundreds and two fifties.

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Earlier, he played an integral part in his team’s run to the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25, being the highest run scorer of the tournament. The 33-year-old scored 779 runs from eight innings at a mind-boggling average of 389.50 and a strike rate of 124.04 with five hundreds and one fifty.

Karun also played County Championships for Northamptonshire in 2023 and 2024, hitting a double hundred in a match against Glamorgan in his second year with the team.

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