Karun Nair took a subtle dig at the selection process after being left out of South Zone’s playing XI for the Duleep Trophy final against East Zone.

Nair’s omission came as a surprise, particularly after he enjoyed an excellent Ranji Trophy season last year, scoring 699 runs. His absence from the South Zone side for the final raised questions over the decision.

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Nair initially left the team after being left out, with South Zone coach Vikram Verma saying that the Karnataka batter had returned home for personal reasons.

However, Nair was back on the field on Monday. He turned out for the KSCA Secretary XI in the Thimmappiah Trophy at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium and made his return count, scoring a century.

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A day later, Nair reacted to a social media post which described his exclusion from the Duleep Trophy final as “inexplicable”. The batter quote-tweeted the post and wrote, “Inexplicable would be an understatement” along with a laughing emoji.

Nair’s absence has become even more noticeable considering what happened in the Duleep Trophy final. Ishan Kishan produced a stunning 270 as East Zone piled up more than 700 runs in their first innings.

South Zone had also left Nair out of their semifinal against Central Zone last week at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

Verma had explained that the decision was based on the team’s combination rather than Nair’s form.

“Actually, we went with a good combination because every team has two left-hand spinners. So, we thought a left-hand batter in the middle order would give us a good chance to dominate them,” said coach Verma.

Verma had also said that Nair left the squad because of family reasons.

But Nair’s appearance for the KSCA Secretary XI soon after his departure has naturally led to more questions around his absence from the Duleep Trophy final.

The 34-year-old made the most of his opportunity on Monday, scoring 104 as Secretary’s XI ended the opening day of their match against Chhattisgarh on 277/9 after 90 overs.

His omission could also prove costly for South Zone. East Zone have already reached 708 in the final on a flat pitch, while Nair is known for his ability to handle spin. The Karnataka batter could have been well suited to the conditions at the Chidambaram Stadium.

Despite conceding a huge first-innings total, Verma believes South Zone can still fight their way back into the final.