Bharath Ramaraj
Many moons ago, in the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy final against Tamil Nadu, Karun Nair walked out to bat with his side in a spot of bother at 16-3. Tamil Nadu had been skittled out for a paltry total in their first innings. However, at that juncture, Karnataka needed someone to shepherd the innings.
Karun didn’t just do the needful, but he went on to amass a gargantuan knock of 328, and, in the company of KL Rahul, powered Karnataka to a mind-blowing score of 762. The door was slammed shut on Tamil Nadu and they eventually hurtled to a massive loss. A decade and more has gone by since that final and a lot has changed in Karun’s life. But at Lord’s, when the right-hand batter took strike in the second innings of the England-India Test, some of the old memories from that innings flooded back.
Interestingly, Rahul, now his former Karnataka teammate, was batting at the other end. And here too the situation demanded someone to play an innings of substance as India pursued a target of 193. Unfortunately for India and Karun, the similarities between the two innings didn’t extend beyond a point as he could accrue only 14 runs. By the completion of that innings, Karun’s aggregate for the ongoing series stood at 131 runs from 6 innings. Not surprisingly, fans and experts alike are raising questions about his place in the playing XI.
So, what has gone wrong for the cricketer who composed a triple-ton in his third Test? There are different layers to Karun’s topsy-turvy career. After finding himself in the wilderness, somewhere in August 2023, Karun decided to shift his base to Vidarbha. In the subsequent 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season, he averaged a tick over 40 for Vidarbha. But it was during the 2024-25 season when Karun elevated his game, accumulating close to 1000 runs in the Ranji Trophy.
After he notched up close to 500 runs for Northamptonshire in Division 2 last year, there was a clamour for his inclusion in the Indian side for the Champions Trophy and the Test series in England. Soon, he also hogged the limelight when he tore apart Jasprit Bumrah in an IPL game. Although he couldn’t make an impression for the rest of the 2025 IPL, the selectors decided that it was time to give him another chance to play Test cricket.
It hasn’t turned out to be a fairytale comeback for Karun in white flannels. One of the reasons could be that his batting isn’t really tailor-made to play at the crucial No.3 spot, especially in overseas conditions. Even during the 2024-25 Ranji season, he batted mostly at No. 4 or 5. There are other factors too that have gone against Karun.
His front-foot stride is a rather small one, and perhaps he doesn’t load up on the back heel early enough. That small flaw could have played a part in one of his dismissals – Edgbaston, second innings. He has also been a victim of misjudgment once – the Lord’s Test. It could have been twice as he shouldered arms to a nip-backer from Chris Woakes in the second Test but survived on the basis of the ball just clipping the top of off stump as per the ball-tracker. The on-field call was not out.
Whatever the issue, Karun hasn’t made his chances count. Yes, he deserved another opportunity after aggregating mountains of runs in domestic cricket. But the world of professional sports is harsh. It wouldn’t exactly be a head-scratching moment if the Indian think-tank decides to move on from Karun after his failure in the third Test. If such a step is taken, then Sai Sudharsan could be back in the mix to replace him. Curiously, Sudharsan was left out after playing one Test in Leeds. Logic says he deserved a longer run at that position.