Karun Nair misses Champions Trophy 2025 spot despite averaging 752 in ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy

Karun Nair has had a dream run with the bat in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025. However, the mountain of runs he has amassed in the tournament couldn't catapult him into the Champions Trophy squad. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief selector and captain Rohit Sharma announced the 15-man squad for the ninth edition of the Champions Trophy on Saturday, January 18.

Nair pushed himself into contention with some excellent performances in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he has led Vidarbha to the finals. The right-handed batter scored a whopping 752 runs from seven innings at an average of 752. This includes five centuries and one half-century. In the semi-finals, he smashed an unbeaten 88 off just 44 balls against Maharashtra.

Agarkar admitted that Nair has caught the attention of the selectors and he could come into the side later if any batter gets injured. The Men in Blue can make changes to the 15-man squad that they have picked before February 11. After this date, there will be room to make alterations if any player in the squad faces an injury. The eight-team tournament begins on February 19 in Karachi.

"He (Karun Nair) has earned out attention. Conversations will be around him if someone is injured and there's a place that crops up in the squad," Agarkar said while addressing the media in a press conference.

Also Read: Champions Trophy 2025: India announce squad, Jasprit Bumrah's availability subject to fitness

The 33-year-old Nair has played six Tests and two ODIs for India. It has been almost eight years since he made his last appearance for the national team. His most notable contribution for India is the triple century he scored against England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai in December 2016.

India's squad for the Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill (vc), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah*, Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.