Karun Nair’s is a story of his bat speaking to the world while the national selectors are ignoring him. The Karnataka batsman scored a stunning double hundred against Kerala in the current Ranji Trophy, which is his incredible run of performances in domestic cricket once again.

Karun Nair’s masterclass rescues Karnataka in Bengaluru

After losing both openers cheaply, Karnataka were in early trouble at 13 for 2 on a testing surface in Bengaluru, Kerala. But Nair didn’t let the situation get to him and showed his trademark calm. He and Krishnan Shrijith took the team out of the mess through a crucial 124-run partnership, thus laying the ground for a solid recovery.

The 32-year-old once he got his eye in, changed the tempo of the game without any difficulty, sending down beautiful drives, flicks, and sharp cuts from which the Kerala bowlers got no respite. Later, he combined with Ravichandran Smaran, who played a vital role off the side with 139 not out, to create an enormous unbeaten 297-run partnership.

Nair went on to make his hundred into a very powerful double century (233 off 389 balls), with 21 fours and two sixes, as Karnataka wrapped up Day 2 in a winning position.

Consistency amid national team snub

This inning is another feather in the cap of Nair’s incredible seasonal run of form. He made 73 and 8 against Saurashtra in the opener, then racked up an unbeaten 174 against Goa – a knock that he had to cut short as he ran out of partners.

In spite of such high returns – upwards of 1500 runs over the last two Ranji seasons – Nair is still nowhere to be seen in India’s Test squad or the India A team.

The chief selector Ajit Agarkar had earlier indicated that the selectors wanted “a little more” from Nair on the England tour where he scored 205 runs in eight innings. However, Nair has communicated his displeasure to the world, stating that he was given the least number of chances and that he needed more to prove himself again after a hiatus of seven years in Test cricket.