When India’s squad for the upcoming home Test series against the West Indies was announced on Thursday (September 25), there was a notable omission in it.

Karun Nair, who made a comeback into the Indian Test side after eight long years on the recent tour of England, failed to make the cut into the 15-member squad.

Nair couldn’t live up to the expectations in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, amassing 205 runs in four matches with just one half-century to his name.

The 33-year-old had returned to the Test folded after grinding hard in the domestic circuit. For a player, who once posted “Dear Cricket give me one more chance”, he failed to deliver in the series where truckloads of runs were scored.

With the Indian team management and selectors known to give players enough backing, it was expected that Karun Nair would get one more series to prove his mettle. However, that wasn’t the case as he was sidelined and Devdutt Padikkal was given the nod ahead.

In an interaction with TOI, Karun Nair spoke about his omission, admitting that he had expected to be part of the team and the snub left him with no words.

“Yes, I did expect the selection. I don’t know what to say. No words. I don’t have any much comments to make. It’s very difficult for me to answer,” Karun said.

While expressing his disappointment, Nair mentioned that he hit a fifty in the last match he played and at a time when the team needed it most.

“You should probably ask the selectors what they’re thinking. Only thing is, in the last Test match also, I got a 50 when no one else scored in the first inning. So, yeah, I thought I contributed to the team and especially in the last game that we won. But yeah, it is what it is. Those things don’t matter,” he added.

Commenting on Karun Nair’s exclusion, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar said they had expected more from him.

"We expected more from Karun Nair in England. It cannot be about just one innings. Yeah, frankly, we expected a bit more from Karun on the England trip there,” Agarkar told reporters after announcing the squad.

Nair’s situation has now returned to its initial state. The right-hander would have to score heaps of runs in the domestic circuit to earn his place in the national side, but even he is unsure if he is in the right frame of mind to do so.

"There's nothing much I can say. There's nothing much that I can do to change anything. So, yeah, I just have to keep going. At least from my point of view, not from others' point of view. In my head, I'm very clear. I did my best they have made the decision and you have to respect that. Now I'm just going to play Ranji Trophy," Karun remarked.

(With TOI Inputs)