Veteran India batter Karun Nair responded to a second straight Duleep Trophy game snub with a century and a pointed message on social media.

After learning he was left out of the South Zone playing XI for the ongoing Duleep Trophy final against East Zone at Chepauk, Nair chose to leave the squad. He returned home to Bengaluru to participate in the Karnataka State Cricket Association's (KSCA) pre-season red-ball competition -- the Dr (Capt) K Thimmappaiah Memorial Tournament.

Playing for the KSCA Secretary's XI against Chhattisgarh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Nair delivered an immediate statement on the pitch by smashing 104 runs off 183 balls with 12 boundaries and a six.

Cricket fans and analysts widely criticized his omission on social media, with one viral post explicitly calling it "inexplicable". Nair quote-tweeted that post, adding, "Inexplicable would be an understatement," alongside a laughing emoji.

Karun Nair was the most experienced player in the South Zone squad and was coming off a highly prolific domestic run, having scored 699 runs for Karnataka in the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy season.

Despite his form, South Zone's leadership—including captain Tilak Varma and coach Vikram Verma—omitted him from both the semifinal and the final, citing "tactical combinations" and a preference for left-handed batter to counter left-arm spinners.

For the semi-final against Noth Zone, they opted for left-hander Kodimela Himateja. When Himateja failed to score and was dropped for the final, the team management brought back Devdutt Padikkal instead of Nair.

“Karun is just unlucky. He has scored a lot of runs in domestic seasons,” Tilak had said while addressing the media at the CoE. “I have chosen Himateja in place of Karun as they have good left-arm spinners. So we wanted a leftie in the middle order. He has also scored a decent amount of runs in domestic cricket. I was just backing him. As a youngster, he also has a good career. At the same time, it is very unfortunate for Karun.”

The selection call quickly backfired on South Zone, whose bowling unit conceded a massive 708 runs against East Zone—highlighted by Ishan Kishan's blistering 270—leaving the team facing an uphill task without their most seasoned middle-order batter.