End Of Road For Karun Nair? BCCI's Bold Shreyas Iyer Call Seen As Big Hint

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) left quite a few in the Indian cricketing spectrum surprised by naming Shreyas Iyer the captain of the India A side for the Australia A series. After Iyer's snub for India's Asia Cup 2025 squad triggered a huge controversy, the selection committee seems to be creating a path for the middle-order batter to become a more important player for the national team. However, Iyer's elevation to the India A squad also raises questions over the spot of Karun Nair in the Test side.

The BCCI seems to be keen on adding Iyer to the red-ball team in the national side again. The likes of Abhimanyu Easwaran, B Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Devdutt Padikkal, etc. have all be named in the India A side but there was no mention of Karun Nair.

Though no concrete message has been sent by the BCCI over Nair's future, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra does feel that the selectors have moved on from him, after a disappointing England tour.

"Shreyas Iyer is the captain of India A for the multi-day matches against Australia A. Dhruv Jurel is the vice-captain. Abhimanyu Easwaran used to be the captain, but that is no longer the case. He is a member of the team, but he is not the captain. If you see the last few tours, there has always been a new captain. The leadership of late has been a case of musical chairs," said Chopra in a video on his YouTube channel.

"Why has Shreyas been elevated as the captain? It is because the No.3 and No.6 slots in Tests are still open. Sai Sudharsan and Easwaran are also in the squad, but Karun Nair is not there. It is a big step because Karun asked for a second chance, and he was given that. He performed okay-okay; he was shuffled up and down the batting order. I thought the upcoming West Indies series would see Karun Nair being included," he added.

Chopra finds Iyer's elevation as the India A captain in a red-ball assignment an 'interesting' development, suggesting that he will be picked in the national team's forthcoming red-ball assignments against South Africa and West Indies.

"Unfortunately, it looks like you won't see Karun Nair playing further. He is not unavailable. He is fit and then not picked; it seems that the selectors have decided to look past Karun Nair. Shreyas is interesting. He was not picked for the Asia Cup, and there was a lot of backlash. Now he finds himself at the helm of India A team," said Chopra.

"Looking at the Indian team's next few assignments, you would think that Shreyas will play two of the three formats. He plays ODIs, and I think he would get a chance in Tests in the upcoming series against the West Indies and South Africa. The kind of pitches there are in India, I think, he will score runs. The door has opened up for him, and nicely," he added.

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