Robin Uthappa Breaks Silence On Broken Friendship With Karun Nair

Robin Uthappa had broken his silence on how a player from Karnataka tried creating a rift between him and Karun Nair. He stated that once he passed a statement in an interview, the Karnataka player informed him about that thing in a different way, stating that it was made for him. Uthappa stated that the statement made by him came out of frustration when he failed to make it to the national team despite having good performances. He scored 99 of 142 first-class matches he played for Karnataka.

The 39-year-old player revealed the reasons that led him to part ways with the Karnataka team. He said,

"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 test 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."

Further, Uthappa stated that he was portrayed as the team breaker.

He said,

"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 organized attack because I had become the players' voice."

"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."