The Indian batter Karun Nair is set to return to Karnataka three seasons after his last appearance for the team.
Nair, who was with Vidarbha the past two seasons, received a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Vidarbha Cricket Association on Monday evening, allowing him to turn out for his original state team.
Karun Nair’s return to Karnataka comes at a time when his stocks have risen considerably from the time he had left. Nair played a key role Vidarbha’s run to their third Ranji Trophy title earlier this year, due to which he earned a recall to India’s Test squad after more than eight years.
His India return comes after his impressive campaign scoring 863 runs in 16 innings with four centuries at 53.93.
He also made a record breaking run in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he captained Vidarbha to a runners-up finish.
He made 779 runs in eight innings, with five consecutive hundreds, at a strike rate of 124.01. Durign the tournament, he set a new List A record of scoring the most runs (542) withouth being dismissed.
However, he couldn’t turn up the impressive scores in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy so far. Despite having made a double century for India A against England Lions in Beckenham, Nair has scored 0, 20, 31, 26, 40 and 14 in the three tests.
Karun Nair’s inclusion will enter a dressing room rich with batting depth. The likes of R Smaran, KL Shrijith, and KV Aneesh enjoyed breakout seasons in 2024-25.
Karun Nair’s return could also prompt a rethink of KSCA’s youth focused strategy – a shift underscored by recent exits of senior players like K Gowtham and Manish Pandey.
Meanwhile, fast bowler V Koushik has secured an NOC to join Goa for the upcoming season. The 32 year old late bloomer who amde his Ranji debut in 2019-20 after leaveing a corporate job.
He has become a key figure in Karnataka’s pace attack post the retirements of stalwarts R Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun and S Aravind.
He topped Karnataka’s wicket charts with 23 wickets in seven games at an average of 18.73 including two five-fers.
