After a disappointing series in England, Karun Nair is likely to sit out the Duleep Trophy. He has a minor finger fracture.
The Karnataka batsman recently made a comeback to the Indian Test team after being out of it for over 7 years. Unfortunately, he didn’t live up to the expectations in the England series, scoring just 205 runs in 8 innings. This is another blow to Nair who is already struggling with his form. The injury might put his place in the Test team at risk, especially with the home series against West Indies and South Africa coming up.
Reports say Nair was hit on the finger by a rising ball and that’s the reason for the minor fracture. Hence he won’t be playing for Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy this year.
Last season Karun Nair played for Vidarbha and was the key player in their title win with his consistent batting. He scored 863 runs in 9 matches, averaging 53.93. He had 4 centuries and 2 half centuries which helped him get back into the Indian Test team.
With Karun Nair out of the domestic red ball tournament, Shreyas Iyer might take his place in the Test team. Sources say the selectors are planning to bring Iyer back into the longest format of the game as they feel his skills and experience are useful for middle order batting especially when handling spin. Nair’s poor form in England and his inability to convert opportunities into big scores might make the selectors look elsewhere and end Nair’s chances in the upcoming matches.
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About 2 weeks back during the India-England series Karun Nair announced his return to the Karnataka State team. This was after he got a no-objection certificate from the Vidarbha Cricket Association where he had played for the last 2 seasons.
Since leaving Karnataka team Karun’s career has taken off. Vidarbha gave him a better platform to showcase his skills and they won the Ranji Trophy under his leadership.
In 2023 Nair’s move to Vidarbha led to unexpected achievements for the team. He led them to their 3rd Ranji Trophy title and also took them to the finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy where they were runners up in the 50 over tournament. Duleep Trophy 2025 starts from August 28 and the final is on September 11. India’s home series starts with the 1st Test against West Indies on October 2, just after the Asia Cup 2025 final.
