India's selectors named an 18-member team last week to travel to England for a five-Test series that will begin in three weeks. When one takes into account that these five games are squeezed into a six-and-a-half-week period, eighteen isn't a large figure. However, assuming that KL Rahul, the most seasoned of the specialist batters, has been chosen as an opener, this larger squad only includes one expert middle-order batter, which is almost unbelievable.

In a manner of speaking, there is a logjam at the top for positions 1, 2, and 3. Shubman Gill, the new Test captain, has never played lower than No. 3 in 59 Test innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal has played all 36 of his Test innings as an opener. Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran are a potent top-order combination. Alongside Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, and backup wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant has begun to bat at No. 5, a position that Ravindra Jadeja has previously held, even if, technically speaking, both should be considered all-rounders. After a seven-year hiatus, Karun Nair is back in the Test team as the sole specialist middle-order batsman. You ask, "Hmm?"

With a string of outstanding performances for Vidarbha in all formats, Karun has broken down the apparently permanently closed doors to the Test side. Vidarbha's journey to the Ranji Trophy final in 2023–24 and their advancement in the previous season were just as much attributable to his batting prowess as they were to anyone else's contributions. In nine Ranji games, he scored 863 runs, including four century; he followed up 86 with 135 in the second innings of the championship. Following a fantastic performance in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy (yes, yes, different format, got it), which produced an astounding 779 runs in eight innings at the absurd average of 389.50.

Over the past two county seasons, the 33-year-old has scored 736 runs for Northamptonshire in 10 games, averaging 56.61 and having a high score of 202 not out. It would be an understatement to say that he is now experiencing a lengthy period of purple patch. Does he merit being reinstated into the Test team? There is only one answer, yes?

The same outcome, but at various times: Karun's history mirrors Sarfaraz's current situation.

It's unfair to imply that Karun made the cut at the expense of India's sole Test triple-centurion other than Virender Sehwag. Although Karun was not treated with the same compassion or thought after being fired for the same four failures on the back of his unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai in December 2016, the fact that Sarfaraz was axed after only four failures following his second-innings 150 against New Zealand in Bengaluru in October of the previous year has been emphasized.

It is undeniable that Karun has earned a spot in the Test squad all by himself. We thought Karun had scored a ton of runs over the previous two campaigns. In his early career, he has played a little bit of Test cricket and some county cricket. Ajit Agarkar, a member of the selection committee, stated in an unnecessary explanation, "We feel that he's batting well enough." “Additionally, now that Virat is gone, we thought Nair's experience may be helpful.”

After a promising start to his Test career early last year against England, Sarfaraz hasn't played a first-class game since November, when he was out for 0 and 1 in the last Test against the Kiwis in Mumbai. In fact, his lone representative appearance following that was in a pink-ball one-day warm-up match against a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra that same month, where he only managed one run. This game took place in advance of the day-night Test in Adelaide. When opportunities arose for some reason or another in Australia, Devdutt Padikkal and Jurel, who had been brought in as a late reinforcement from the India 'A' team, were chosen to play in Tests ahead of Sarfaraz. Even then, it was clear that the writing was on the wall. Why would Sarfaraz be chosen over Karun if he hasn't played any cricket since? In addition, possibly as a middle-order batsman, if the decision-makers were persuaded that he could perform in England (which they obviously didn't think he could in Australia), but rather than? No.

It's difficult to refute the assertion that Sarfaraz is suffering the same sort of harsh cut that Karun experienced many years ago. It's possible that Gautam Gambhir, the head coach, doesn't see as much potential in him as Rahul Dravid, his predecessor, did. The decision is subjective, and as with every subjective decision, it can be argued endlessly. But has Sarfaraz's recent play surpassed Karun's in its entirety? Absolutely not, to paraphrase Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

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