It was a comeback to remember for Karun Nair as he marked his Indian Premier League return with a classy 89 off 40 balls. The knock that was laced with 12 fours and 5 sixes came for Delhi Capitals in the side’s IPL 2025 match vs Mumbai Indians at Arun Jaitely Stadium on Sunday. DC were in a state of bother after losing Jake Fraser-McGurk on the first ball of the innings. Nair came in to bat at number 3 and played a herioc knock to nearly seal the game for his side. DC eventually lost the game by 12 runs after failing to hold their nerves in the perfect thriller, but Nair’s knock did’t go unnoticed.
The right-handed batter remains out of the India squad despite consistently impressing in domestic cricket. While this was Nair’s first game in IPL in nearly three years, this also turned out to be his first fifty in almost seven years.
Around three years back, Nair, only the second Indian to score a triple-century in Test cricket, had even tweeted: “Dear cricket, give me one more chance.”
Former India player Ambati Rayudu heaped praises on Nair for holding on long with his dream of playing for India again, something which is not fulfilled yet. The retired player, who is now part of Star Sports’ commentary panel, explained how tough it is for a player to stay motivated while moving back to the domestic circuit after being ingored at national selection.
“It’s sheer persistence because what you go through when things don’t go well for you in India is not easy to withstand. A lot of people have gone through that, and very few have come out of that with flying colours and Karun Nair is one. Because once you get lost in the domestic system in India, it is very, very tough to make a comeback. Especially because mentally you’re always dragged down by so many things around you, and a lot of people will write you off,” said Rayudu.
“Cricket is a game that moves on fast, but still, cricket has moved on, but Karun Nair, has not moved on. He has never left, learning, never left working hard, never, left the belief that he could make a comeback, especially in Test cricket. I would sincerely hope and love that he goes to England. He’s on that flight, in the Test series,” he added.
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