Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
‘I offered to play for Kerala but…’: Karun Nair reveals why he joined Vidarbha after leaving Karnataka
Karun Nair revealed how he had been on the verge of joining Kerala, before committing to their ongoing Ranji Trophy final opponents Vidarbha back in 2023.
Karun Nair is experiencing something of a mini-career renaissance, having found a rich vein of form for Vidarbha in recent months following his switch from Karnataka in 2023. However, with the ongoing Ranji Trophy final between Vidarbha and Kerala, Nair revealed how he very easily could have been on the other side of this matchup if things went differently.
Speaking to Malayalam news channel 24, Nair explained what the situation was when he was looking for a switch. "There were discussions about it. When I was sure I was going to leave Karnataka, I was looking at my options. There was some talk about it, but it didn't go forward."
"I had offered myself to KCA, but it didn't go forward,” explained Karun. “At the same time, I got the offer from Vidarbha. I wasn't in a situation to wait, as I wasn't in a best spot. I wanted to clear my mind and that was only possible by joining a team. So I joined Vidarbha.”
Karun, who has famously struck a triple century for India in Test cricket, has gone on to gain the captaincy of the Vidarbha team, and has been in particularly strong form in recent months, which even saw him as an outside consideration for India's ICC Champions Trophy squad due to his incredible performances in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this year.
Vidarbha reached the finals of the tournament, thanks in large part to Karun’s incredible campaign which saw him score 779 runs in 8 matches, including five centuries and a whopping average of 389.5. However, the trophy wouldn’t come for Karun, as his Vidarbha team lost by just 36 runs to his former team Karnataka in the finals.
Vidarbha hunting third Ranji title
Nonetheless, Karun has continued his strong form since the return of the Ranji Trophy, scoring a century against Hyderabad in the group stage before adding another against Tamil Nadu in the quarterfinals. He has helped take Vidarbha to another Ranji final, as they look for their third Ranji title in seven seasons.
Vidarbha took a 37-run lead over Kerala in the final, putting themselves in a strong position with two days of play left. Karun contributed with a score of 86 in the first innings, only dismissed via a run out. Kerala might be wondering how different things could have been if they had acted faster during Karun’s pursuit of a switch.
