India Test batter Karun Nair’s misunderstanding over an interview triggered a major career turning point for Robin Uthappa and led to his eventual exit from Karnataka, the 2007 World Cup-winner revealed in a recent podcast episode.
Speaking on the First Umpire podcast, Uthappa recounted how his expression of disappointment at non-selection in the Indian Test set-up during a Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai in the 2016-17 season eventually stirred a rift with his teammate Nair. While Uthappa’s comments were generic in nature, he claimed that another teammate informed Nair that the “twisted” comments were directed at him, while he was in contention to bag his maiden Test call-up that year.
Uthappa interview on Karun Nair
“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.”
“Someone from our team took that piece of the interview and told Karun Nair that I had said it about him. Karun Nair, who was like a younger brother, alienated me at that time because he was close to getting a Test cap. He didn’t check with me and believed it. A few days later, some infighting started. When the interview came out, since it was in Bombay, and Bombay loves to dominate domestic cricket, the media there even portrayed it in a way that could be perceived as if I was talking about Karun. Karun believed it and distanced himself from me,” Uthappa added.
“Organized attack” on Robin Uthappa
Uthappa also lamented that a coordinated attack was plotted against him, which eventually led to his exit after playing 99 First-Class matches for the state.
According to Uthappa, a meeting was held in Bengaluru where he was accused of “creating divisions” within the team. “I told them if anyone thought I was breaking the team, they should raise their hand and I would quit immediately. Nobody raised a hand, but I knew then there was an organised attack because I had become the players’ voice,” he said.
“So after that incident, I tried to give everything. Genuinely and consciously I tried to give everything, but it didn’t come. And performances also didn’t come after that because that emotional tag of mine was broken,” Uthappa remarked.
Story continues below this ad
“One and a half years later I came to know that that match against Andhra in Punjab would have been my 100th first-class game for Karnataka. So I finished my first-class career in Karnataka, and finished my first-class career with playing only 99 first-class matches for Karnataka,” he added.
The 39-year-old Uthappa retired after having played 142 FC matches in his career, aggregating over 9400 runs at 40.71 without representing the national side.
