Didn't think I'd be considered for India's Champions Trophy 2025 squad: Karun Nair

There have been plenty of comeback stories that have made waves in the cricketing world, and recently the player who has been doing the same is Karun Nair. Vidarbha white-ball skipper has been having a great season in domestic season so far and was even on the radar of the selectors after his incredible performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he also led Vidarbha to the finals for the first time.

Karun Nair was the leading run scorer and Player of the Tournament, where he scored 779 at an average of 389.50 with five centuries and one half-century to his name. This also led to a lot of players talking about the possibility of him being in the Champions Trophy, but unfortunately, the Jodhpur-born batter was not included in the squad. However, it turns out Nair was not thinking about making the Champions Trophy squad and instead had hopes of making a return to Test cricket instead.

“If I'm being honest, before the tournament, I wasn't thinking about that. At least for me, it felt quite far away. But like I said, you have dreams, you have thoughts, you want to achieve things. But you're not thinking, 'I'm going to make it.' You think, 'I want to make it.' But whether it will actually happen is always a question mark in your head," Nair told Sports Today.

“I still have the dream of playing Test cricket for India. I've said it in many interviews. So quite honestly, that was the only thing on my mind. I wasn't even thinking that I'd be mentioned or considered for the Champions Trophy squad, so I feel really grateful for that," Nair added.

Also Read: Watch: PCB unveils revamped Gaddafi Stadium ahead of Champions Trophy 2025

Nair is currently playing for Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy which is being led by Akshay Wadkar and the team is leading the points table in Group C. Nair has played six matches in the tournament so far and has scored 335 runs at an average of 37.22. He has scored one century and one half-century in the red-ball tournament.