KL Rahul and Karun Nair called up to play for Karnataka

KL Rahul and Karun Nair have been named in Karnataka’s squad for the third round of Ranji Trophy matches beginning October 24, against Hyderabad in Shimoga. Both of them are currently part of the Board President’s XI squad scheduled to play the two warm-up fixtures against New Zealand ahead of the limited-overs series starting October 22.

Rahul, whose omission from the squad for New Zealand ODIs has been an eyebrow-raiser, struck a 68 in the first warm-up game in Mumbai on Tuesday. Meaning, his time away from the Indian team will not do him much harm if he continues to pile one performance after another in the domestic circuit.

Nair, who led India A in the two unofficial Tests against New Zealand A, too impressed with the top score of a 64-ball 78 instrumental in the side’s 30-run victory.

“Having Rahul and Karun is a big boost for Karnataka,” R Vinay Kumar, the Karnataka captain, said, as reported by Cricinfo.

“Rahul has cemented his place in the Indian team while Karun is also doing well. The sight of their names on the team sheet will put opponents under pressure.”

Karnataka in the season opener

As far as Karnataka is concerned, they began their 2017 Ranji Trophy campaign with a bang despite the absence of big guns like Manish Pandey and KL Rahul, defeating Assam by an innings and 121 runs in the other match in Group A. With KL Rahul coming back, the side will have a stronger team. Currently, Karnataka are placed second in the points table with seven points from two matches.

Sent into bat, Assam managed a meagre 145 in their first innings. While Karnataka declared their first innings at 469/7, courtesy a century each by Ravikumar Samarth and Krishnappa Gowtham. Assam found it too hard to face the bowling attack of the hosts led by Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal in the first innings and Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun and Gowtham in the second. The Assam innings ended with 203, giving Karnataka their first win in the season’s opener itself.