Iyer was named India A captain for Australia A series; Karun Nari was overlooked in the squad.
Shreyas Iyer was left out of the Asia Cup 2025 squad by the BCCI selectors, and it caused a lot of backlash for their decision. However, Iyer's good performances for Mumbai and for India seemed to be rewarded by India A captaincy and possibly his coming back into the Test team contention.
However, Karun Nair's exclusion from the India A squad seems like the selectors have moved on from the Karnataka batter.
Iyer's return to the national team's red-ball squad appears to be a top priority for the BCCI. Karun Nair was not mentioned, despite the fact that players like Abhimanyu Easwaran, B Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Devdutt Padikkal, and others were named in the India A team.
"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 also stated that Iyer becoming India A captain for red-ball matches might also mean his comeback into the Indian Test team for the West Indies and South Africa series at home. This also might hint at the end for Karun Nair in the Indian team, after his lukewarm return in the England series.
Nair, who made a comeback into the Indian Test team for the first time since 2017, made 205 runs in 4 Tests with one fifty at an average of 25.62. He got several starts but failed to capitalize on them.
"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. With 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.