'He deserved one more chance' - Karun Nair's childhood coach feels Test snub will make him hungrier

Karun Nair's childhood coach Vijay Madyalkar feels the former deserved to be a part of India's 15-member squad for the upcoming two-match series against West Indies. Nair was dropped after an underwhelming England tour, in which he could put together only 205 runs in eight innings.

Madyalkar opined that Nair deserved a chance to express himself in Indian conditions after all the runs he had stockpiled in the domestic circuit, which led to his India comeback after over eight years. His coach labelled him as "best-suited for Indian conditions" for the time being.

“I felt very bad for him. He deserved one more chance, that is what I feel. But, again, it is the selectors’ call. They think in a different way. He got a chance in tough conditions in England. In those conditions, what best one can do, he did it. He scored all those runs in India in the lead-up to his comeback. I think they should have given him a chance in India. He is best-suited for Indian conditions, as of now. In England, the conditions were not always easy for batting,” stated Madyalkar, as quoted by India Today.

Madyalkar remarked that not getting selected for India's upcoming red-ball series will only make him mentally stronger to take on tougher challenges in the future. The coach admitted that a hundred during the England series could have potentially strengthened Nair's chances of making it to the squad against the Windies.

“He was comfortable playing there. He had played two seasons in the England county league. The only thing was that a big hundred didn’t come. But, he was involved in crucial partnerships throughout the series. He will have more hunger now. When you go through highs and lows every season, you mature a lot as a cricketer. So, it becomes easier for him to prepare well and show that hunger. He will only become stronger. He has got that in him. He is raring to go again,” he added.

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Nair has played 12 international matches (10 Tests and 2 ODIs) for India up until now. Having returned to Karnataka ahead of the upcoming domestic season after spending two seasons at Vidarbha, the 33-year-old is expected to have a slight advantage of home conditions as well as familiar faces.