Karun Nair vs Sarfaraz Khan: Ajit Agarkar explains why 33-year-old got selected ahead of youngster for England tour

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar explains why Karun Nair got selected ahead of Sarfaraz Khan. (Photo: BCCI)

Saturday (May 24, 2025) was a special day for Karun Nair, as he earned a recall to the Indian cricket team for the first time since 2018. The Karnataka batter was named in the 18-man squad for the five-match Test series against England, starting June 20.

However, there was no place for Sarfaraz Khan — the young batter who had performed reasonably well in the limited opportunities he got in Test cricket.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar stated that the decision to exclude Sarfaraz was based on several factors, acknowledging that it might seem unfair to certain individuals.

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Sarfaraz Khan made his Test debut at home against England in 2024. He featured in six matches, scoring 371 runs at an average of nearly 40. He began impressively with a century in the series opener against New Zealand, also played at home. However, his form dipped in the remaining games of the series, which India went on to lose 0-3.

Despite his promising start, the Mumbai batter was overlooked for overseas assignments, including the five-Test tour of Australia.

Meanwhile, Karun Nair has earned a recall to the Test squad following a consistent run of form in domestic cricket over the past two to three years.

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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.

"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.

In the 2023-24 season, Nair scored 690 runs in 10 matches for Vidarbha. He played a crucial role in his team's Ranji Trophy 2024-25 win by finishing as the 4th-highest run scorer of the season. He scored 863 runs in 16 innings with an average of 53.93.