Karun Nair set to play for Karnataka again: Details here
What's the story
Indian batter Karun Nair, who is currently away on the England tour, is set to return to his home side of Karnataka for the 2025-26 domestic season. Nair was with Vidarbha in the last two seasons but has now received a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Vidarbha Cricket Association. As reported earlier, Karnataka had re-signed Nair for the upcoming season.
Career resurgence
Nair's impressive domestic stint
Nair had an impressive stint with Vidarbha in domestic cricket. He helped them win the Ranji Trophy title this year, scoring 863 runs from 16 innings at an average of 53.93, as per ESPNcricinfo. He slammed a solid century in the final against Kerala. Notably, Kerala had shown interest in signing Nair when he was dropped from the Karnataka squad for the 2021-22 season.
Trophy triumph
Record-breaking performance in Vijay Hazare Trophy
The breakout tournament for Nair was the 2024/25 Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 50-over event. While Vidarbha were the runners-up, he hammered a whopping 779 runs from eight innings at a strike rate of 124.04. Nair entered record books by scoring five consecutive centuries during the tournament. He was unbeaten in six of his eight innings. As a result, Nair was recalled to India's Test squad after more than eight years.
Current form
Nair's form in England
Nair, who has played three Tests in the ongoing England Test series, brings a wealth of experience to the table. He has been instrumental in blunting the new ball, a key requirement at No. 3 in England. However, Nair has been guilty of not converting his starts, as his scores in the series read 0, 20, 31, 26, 40, 14.
Information
Stellar First-Class career
Nair has had a stellar First-Class career so far. In 119 red-ball games, he has racked up 8,601 runs at an average of 48.86. His tally includes 24 tons and 36 half-centuries. Nair is one of India's two triple-centurions in Test cricket.