Revealed! Why Karun Nair Was Chosen Over Shreyas Iyer By BCCI For England Tour

Due to his steady play in domestic cricket, Shreyas Iyer's exclusion from the India Test team for the England tour has generated a lot of discussion. For the England Test series, Karun Nair was selected by the selectors instead of Shreyas Iyer.

After eight years, Karun Nair rejoined the India Test team. Nair demonstrated his abilities in domestic cricket as well, and the reason why selectors chose him over Shreyas Iyer for the team is now gradually becoming clear.

According to a Cricblogger media source, the primary factor in choosing Karun Nair over Iyer was the comparison of Iyer's aggressive intent with Nair's cool-headed and collected on-field intent.

Shreyas Iyer’s aggression cost him a place in the Indian Test team; Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan were preferred

Both Nair and Iyer had outstanding batting seasons in domestic cricket, but Nair has been demonstrating his abilities on a regular basis for many seasons. In contrast, Iyer had a strong domestic season the year before. The selectors chose Nair over Iyer because they liked him.

But according to BCCI insiders, Iyer will be selected above Nair automatically if he keeps up his current form and Nair struggles on the England tour.

“Shreyas’ recent form in ODIs and IPL also makes him a candidate for the red ball team,” a board official told Cricblogger.

Sai Sudharsan picked on Domestic Cricket form

Like Nair, Sai Sudarshan was selected for the England tour and was a direct rival of Iyer in the Test squad. The Cricblogger report claims that Sai was chosen not because of his IPL performances but rather because of his steady play in domestic cricket.

Sai has also been getting runs for Tamil Nadu in the top division of cricket. He has an advantage over other seasoned players selected for the England tour because of his ability to bat on any track.

“The selectors made it clear a player’s white ball form can’t be a criterion for red ball team selection. This probably is for the first time that the selectors are deciding their teams in three formats based on the performance of a particular format,” the source added.

Shreyas Iyer’s Test record for India

On November 25, 2021, Iyer played his first Test match at Kanpur against New Zealand. Iyer got a ton in his first Test match and was given his cap by Sunil Gavaskar. Iyer has only participated in 14 Test matches thus far in his career and has also been benched from the red-ball squad on a few occasions.

In 24 innings, Shreyas amassed 811 Test runs at an average of 36.86. He has five half-centuries in his Test career and only one hundred, which came in his first Test match.

Also Read: Shubman Gill Fought Gautam Gambhir For Sai Sudharsan’s Selection In India Test Squad- Report