India handed a test debut to 24-year-old Hanuma Vihari for the fifth Test against England on Friday. The middle-order batsman replaced all-rounder Hardik Pandya as one of two changes to the line-up with Ravindra Jadeja coming in for fellow spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

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Vihari's inclusion meant that India ignored the more experienced Karun Nair. While Nair has been part of India’s squad all series, Vihari was added for the fourth and fifth Test matches.

The decision did not sit well with many including former India captain Sunil Gavaskar. He come down hard on the Indian team management’s repeated ignoring of Karun Nair. 

While speaking on Sony Six, Gavaskar was furious at the team’s decision to once ignore Nair, who had scored triple-century in Tests in 2016.

“Karun Nair has every right to ask the team management why he is not in the team,” said Gavaskar. “He deserves an answer. You didn’t pick an extra specialist batsman earlier, but now that you have, Karun Nair deserves an answer. He is not your favourite player. The selectors seem to have brought him. I don’t think the team management likes him.”

Nair played the last of his six Test matches against Australia at Dharamsala in March 2017. The 26-year-old was recalled for the Afghanistan Test in June but did not get selected in the playing XI. He then captained India A side on their UK tour and registered scores of 20, 93, 42, 55 and 2. 

Vihari was named in the squad for the fourth and fifth Tests in England. This came after he scored 410 runs in six games for India A, which included four List A games and two four-day matches. In the two unofficial Tests against West Indies, he had scores of 37, 10, 4 and 68. Back in India for India A’s four-day games versus South Africa A, Vihari made scores of 54, 148 and 0 and was then called to England to link up with the Test squad.

Vihari has experience of regularily playing in England. He had played for Hutton CC in the Shepherd Neame Essex First Division League, scoring six centuries during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.