RevSportz Comment
When a team, especially one that had previously set benchmarks for sustained excellence, goes into a downward spiral, the conspiracy theories multiply as fast as bacteria in a petri dish. Along with that, those who weren’t part of the on-field debacles become the best players, the saviours who could potentially turn things around. In hard times, nothing enhances a player’s reputation quite like not playing.
With five centuries in six innings in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, there’s little doubt that Karun Nair is enjoying the sort of purple patch that few ever do. The last three of those centuries have come against Tamil Nadu, UP and Rajasthan, teams that have been a force in domestic cricket this century. With talk of rejuvenation ahead of the tour of England later this year, every other expert and fan suddenly has Karun’s name on their lips.
Some have used the opportunity to slam Virat Kohli’s leadership, pointing out that Karun made a thrilling 303 not out in one of the six Tests he played before being dropped. But here’s the thing. In his other six innings, Karun made 71 runs, with a highest score of 26. That is admittedly a small sample size, but smart captains and coaches don’t often go by numbers alone.
Karun’s card was probably marked on the tense fourth, and final, day of the Bengaluru Test against Australia in 2017. India had conceded a first innings lead of 87, and then plunged to 120 for 4 in their second dig. That was when Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane painstakingly batted 46.2 overs to add 118 and edge India in front. But when Rahane fell to the second new ball, Karun walked in at No. 7.
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The match was very much in the balance, but with Pujara nearing a century at the non-striker’s end, the remit given to Karun was to play the supporting role. Instead, he played an expansive waft at the first ball he faced from Mitchell Starc and saw his middle stump pole-axed via the inside edge. Under the circumstances, it was an appalling stroke.
The axe didn’t fall immediately, but after failures on a dead Ranchi pitch and a lively one in Dharamsala, Indian cricket moved on. Karun didn’t help himself either. His lack of form eventually saw him dropped from the Karnataka side. He moved to Vidarbha in 2023, but a first-class average of 48.64 suggests he didn’t always cash in.
As a contrast, Sarfaraz Khan averages close to 70 in red-ball cricket outside of Tests. The corresponding number for Rohit Sharma is 60.80. S Badrinath, the hard-luck story from a generation ago, enjoyed a stellar career in domestic cricket, averaging 54.49, but was dumped after just two Tests against Dale Steyn and friends.
Despite not being captain – except when others were incapacitated – or coach in Australia, it’s been open season on Kohli since the team returned to India. Apart from the alleged mismanagement of Karun, he has been accused of not being an inclusive captain when he led the side.
One example cited is that of Yuvraj Singh returning from cancer, and fitness parameters not being adjusted to accommodate him. There’s just one problem with that tale. Yuvraj played under Kohli’s captaincy only in 2017, nearly half a decade after his return from cancer treatment. But never let facts get in the way of a good sob story.
Kohli also stands accused of destroying Ambati Rayudu’s career in the run-up to the 2019 World Cup. Rayudu batted 41 of his 50 ODI innings for India in prime top-four positions. His strike-rate of 79 would have been acceptable in 1999, but was way below par two decades later. In fact, in the four-year cycle after the 2015 World Cup, Rayudu only twice scored at better than a run a ball – against Afghanistan and West Indies. In 2019, his strike-rate from 10 innings was 75.30. Kohli, who also batted in the top four, had a strike-rate of 96.36 the same year.
Again, though, many news outlets prefer to gloss over these facts. Agendas are much easier.