Karun Nair takes a dig at South Zone after being benched for Duleep Trophy final

India and Karnataka batter Karun Nair has taken a dig at the team management after being left out of the South Zone playing XI for the second successive match of the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2026-27. Nair wasn’t selected for the semi-finals and the ongoing final in Chennai and has returned to Bengaluru to play for KSCA Secretary XI at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the Thimmappiah Trophy.

He took part in South Zone's training session at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on the eve of the Duleep Trophy final. However, he left the squad on Sunday after learning of his non-selection to play in the Thimmappiah Trophy, the tournament which marks the start of Karnataka's preparations for the Ranji Trophy. Nair even slammed a century playing for KSCA Secretary XI against Chhattisgarh.

The South Zone coach Vikram Verma said that Nair had left the squad for "personal reasons after stumps on Day 2 of the match. However, while replying to a post on X, Nair said that his non-selection was beyond inexplicable.

"No, he [Nair] went [home] with the personal reasons. So he left for his home, he mailed and took the permission. Actually, we went with a good combination because every team has two left-arm spinners. So we thought a left-hand batter in the middle order would give a chance to dominate them. So again, we thought [of] what is best for the team,” Verma was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.

Inexplicable would be an understatement🤣 https://t.co/kPtzds8r6f

— Karun Nair (@karun126) September 7, 2026

Verma mentioned that it was difficult to leave Nair out but explained that since Devdutt Padikkal has returned, there was no place for him in the playing XI.

Ishan Kishan slams 270 in Duleep Trophy final

"And [in the] first match [against North Zone], we gave chance to a youngster [Kodimela] Himateja. Now since [Devdutt] Padikkal has come back again, so again the team combination was that. So [it] was difficult to [leave] him [Nair] out, but that's the combination we have,” he added.

The Duleep Trophy squads were picked by selectors from each state association within that zone, and not by the national selectors. Meanwhile, East Zone posted a humongous score of 708 in the first innings, riding on a marathon knock from captain Ishan Kishan, who scored 270. Apart from him, Kumar Kushagra also slammed a century, while Shikhar Mohan (85) and Abhimanyu Easwaran (72) also made valuable contributions.