It was only in December 2022 that Karun Nair had famously tweeted on his Twitter account: “Dear cricket, give me one more chance.” Nair, with his own share of heartbreaks in the sport, ultimately got an opportunity in the Indian Premier League 2025 game against the Mumbai Indians. And he definitely made it worth it, with a 40-ball 89 for his Delhi Capitals side in pursuit of Mumbai Indians’ total of 206. The chase came up 12 runs short, but served to remind everyone what Nair is capable of.
Long-Awaited Return to the IPL for Karun Nair
Participating in his first IPL match in almost three years (he last played for Rajasthan Royals in 2022), Nair hit his first half-century in IPL in 2520 days, since his previous one (that’s almost seven years). Delhi recruited him for a fee of Rs 50 lakh during the IPL auction, but he failed to make it to the Playing XI in the initial four matches.
A Test Triple Centurion’s Domestic Comeback
Nair has witnessed fair share of professional upheaval over the past couple of years. This despite Karnataka’s right-hand batter becoming one of the all-time greats of Indian Test cricket, ranking just second on the list along with Virender Sehwag after bagging a triple century.
Switch to Vidarbha Brings Form and Fortune for Karun Nair
The batter shifted from Karnataka to Vidarbha at the beginning of the 2023-24 home season after failing to get picked by Karnataka. The change richly rewarded him as he amassed 779 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at 389.50 per innings and 863 runs in the Ranji Trophy, leading Vidarbha to victory in the 2024/25 season. Adding to the achievement was also the 255 runs that he aggregated at a strike rate of more than 170 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25.
Mindset and Confidence Key to Comeback
Nair also turned out for Northamptonshire in 10 County Championship matches across two seasons, where he scored 736 runs at 56.61.
“Honestly, I had the confidence that I’ve played [IPL] before and I know how it’s going to be, and it’s nothing different that I’m going to be facing… (it wasn’t) anything new. So, in my mind, it was just about going out there and giving myself a few balls and just getting used to the speed of the game again and the atmosphere,” Nair said after his knock against Mumbai on Sunday evening.