'Dear cricket will ... ': Irfan Pathan's touching post for Karun Nair sparks buzz

NEW DELHI: Right-handed batter Karun Nair has returned to the national radar with his selection in the Abhimanyu Easwaran-led India ‘A’ squad for the upcoming tour of England, beginning May 30. India ‘A’ are set to play two matches against England Lions — from May 30 to June 2 in Canterbury and June 6 to 9 in Northampton — followed by an intra-squad match against the senior India Test squad from June 13 to 16 in Beckenham.Welcoming Nair’s inclusion, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan wrote on social media:“Karun Nair getting selected for India A is clear indication that ‘Dear cricket will give him another chance to play for team India again’.”In its announcement of the 18-member squad, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also stated that Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan will join the team ahead of the second game against England Lions, once IPL 2025 concludes on June 3.Nair, who famously scored a triple century against England in Chennai in December 2016, was a standout performer in Vidarbha’s Ranji Trophy-winning 2024–25 season, amassing 863 runs at an average of 53.93 to finish as the tournament’s fourth-highest run-getter.He also featured in the County Championship Division 1 for Northamptonshire over the past two seasons, scoring 736 runs from 14 innings at an average of 56.61, including two centuries and a highest score of 202 not out.With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from Test cricket, the performances of Nair and Easwaran on this tour will be closely watched by the Indian team management and the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee, as they seek to rebuild the Test batting core.The India ‘A’ squad also features several Test-capped players, including vice-captain Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, and Sarfaraz Khan, who returns after recovering from a rib injury sustained during the 2024–25 tour of Australia.A few uncapped names have also earned call-ups: Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Anshul Kamboj, Tushar Deshpande, and Harsh Dubey, who was the leading wicket-taker and Player of the Tournament in the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy.Khaleel Ahmed and Ruturaj Gaikwad, both of whom have featured in India’s white-ball squads, are also part of the touring party to England.