Former India wicketkeeper-batter Robin Uthappa has made a startling revelation on facing an ‘orchestrated attack’ for his comments on India Test cricketer Karun Nair during their time playing for Karnataka in domestic cricket.
Uthappa recounted how an interview he gave after a game in Mumbai during the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy had ‘alienated’ Karun from himself. In the interaction, the 39-year-old had expressed his frustration about missing out on a spot in Test cricket, whereas some players were handed caps easily.
Speaking on the same on YouTube podcast First Umpire, Uthappa said,
“There was an interview. At that point, I was trying to get into the Test team. I was frustrated because despite performing well, I wasn’t even being considered. Maybe all of those emotions came out in the conversation. I said in the interview that Test caps were being given away too easily and that some people really needed to earn them rather than just being given them freely.”
Uthappa also revealed that some player in the Karnataka team had shown Nair the snippet of the interview and hinted that the words were spoken about him. However, the former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star clarified that he did not clear the misunderstanding with the current India cricketer, which made the distance grow further.
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Uthappa further opened up about how the incident led to him being dropped and eventually forced him to leave Karnataka after the 2016-17 domestic season. It so happened that after Karnataka qualified for the quarters of the Ranji Trophy that season, a meeting was held in which he was accused of tarnishing team unity.
Next, Uthappa was also omitted from Karnataka’s squad for the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Tamil Nadu and the emotional toll of the entire situation subsequently made him leave the Karnataka state team after the season.
Uthappa added, “It was just an orchestrated attack on me because I had won the trust of the team, and the boys came to me with their issues. That was working, but after I stood up for the team, no one stood up for me. I felt very let down. Combined with Karun feeling I was against him, that hurt me because he was like a younger brother. I wanted nothing more than for players like Karun, Rahul, and Manish to succeed and play for India. I felt really let down by the team because not even one person stood up for me,” he added.
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