Virat Kohli or KL Rahul, who should leave a spot for Karun Nair in Team India?

Karun Nair scored upwards of 700 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Legendary Sachin Tendulkar made a supportive social media post. But none of it helped. His dream of donning the Indian jersey again after eight years was dashed by a rigid set of team dynamics When the national selectors led by Ajit Agarkar and skipper Rohit Sharma sat together to pick India's squads for the Champions Trophy and the ODIs against England, they couldn’t find a proper spot for the 33-year-old Vidarbha captain.

Questions will be asked about the relevance of scoring heavily in domestic cricket if a player does not get selected on that count, and about the honesty of the team management's decision to place significance on domestic matches.

But in truth, as Agarkar explained, it was indeed tough to include Karun in a squad of 15 in the current situation.

“Yeah, it is tough. Those are really special performances. I mean, someone who averages — 700-plus, 750-plus. We did have a chat (about Karun),” Agarkar said in the press meet to announce the Indian squads on Saturday.

“But at the moment, to find a spot in this team is very difficult. I mean, look at the guys who've been picked. All average well in excess of mid-40s. So, unfortunately, you can't fit everyone in. It's a squad of 15. But those performances (like Karun) certainly make you take notice,” he added.

Recently, Karun Nair also spoke to the Hindustan Times about his dreams of playing India after many years. He said, “Obviously, the possibility of an India comeback has to be on your mind. If you want to play for the country, you have to keep dreaming. There are these thoughts and dreams in the head but that's just motivation.”

In domestic cricket, Karun bats the highest at No. 3, and at times, comes at either No. 4 or 5, depending on the conditions. However, those slots in the Indian team are occupied by Virat Kohli, a titan in one-dayers, Shreyas Iyer, who averages close to 50 in ODIs, and either KL Rahul, a proven, flexible 50-over batter who also keep wickets, or Rishabh Pant, an explosive left-handed batter and the first-choice stumper-batter.

In this particular squad selection, the management also wanted to include as many all-rounders as possible, hence Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar got the nod.

Rest of the positions were filled by the bowlers, as Karun will now have to wait for some more time to make a comeback.

Agarkar did not rule out that possibility. “If there is tomorrow a loss of form or injuries (to other players), there'll certainly be a conversation around him,” he said.

(With inputs from PTI)