Is Karun Nair's International career finished after poor England series?

Karun Nair: from Triple Hundred to No One

First of all, let's talk about the journey before he was dropped from the Indian cricket team's squad.

Karun Nair was born in Jodhpur but was raised in Bengaluru; thus, he played for the Karnataka team in domestic cricket. After some terrific performances in domestic cricket, Nair was given his dream opportunity when England were touring India in 2016.

In 2016, Karun Nair was part of the Indian squad for the home series against England. And it didn't take him long before he showcased to the world what a brilliant talent he is.

In the 5th Test match in Chennai, Karun Nair scored 303 runs unbeaten off 381 balls as India scored 759 runs, which eventually allowed team India to win the match by an innings and 75 runs. He was hailed as a brilliant talent.

Yet, what was hailed as a brilliant talent was soon lost. Nair was involved in the team for the following home series against Australia and he scored only 54 runs in 4 innings and was dropped from the team, never finding a way back.

A resilient comeback

Despite being dropped from the Indian team's squad, Karun Nair continued to work hard in the domestic circuit. However, he faced ups and downs, and there was a time when even the Karnataka team dropped him, their former captain, from the squad.

Then the hard work really paid off for Nair. Ahead of the 2023-2024 domestic season, Karun Nair moved to the Vidarbha team. He had a fantastic start to his career there as he scored 690 runs in his first season with Vidarbha.

That brilliant form translated into the 2024-2025 season. Nair scored 863 runs in 16 innings at an average of 53.94, which included 4 centuries, including one in the Ranji Trophy final as Vidarbha won the title.

He was brilliant in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well he scoring 779 runs in 8 innings with an unbelievable average of 389.50. He scored five centuries that included four back-to-back centuries. 

He had done enough to prove himself, and even the selector Ajit Agarkar was impressed with his performance and was eventually included in the Indian Test team, replacing Virat Kohli ahead of the England series.

An England tour to forget for Nair 

Karun Nair’s return to the Indian Test team after almost a decade was full of high expectations after the standards he set himself with his performance in the domestic circuit, and most importantly, he scored a double century against the England Lions just before the series.

However, what should have been a comeback of ages is something that Nair would want to forget.

In the England vs India five-match Test series, Karun Nair has featured in four matches for Team India and couldn't impress either the fans or the management with his batting.

Karun Nair batted at number six in the batting order in the opening Test match played in Leeds. However, he scored only 0 runs off 4 balls in the first inning and 20 runs off 54 balls in the 2nd inning.

Karun was moved up to bat at number three in the lineup in anticipation of improvements ahead of the second Test in Birmingham. However, there wasn't any improvement. Although 31 runs in the 1st innings and 26 runs in the 2nd innings, he failed to capitalise on the starts and failed to play a longer innings.

The struggle continued for the former Karnataka cricket team captain in the 3rd Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. Nair scored 40 runs in the first inning and 14 runs in the 2nd inning as Team India lost the match by 22 runs to concede the lead in the series by 2-1, with two more matches remaining.

After his performance in the first three games of the series, scoring 131 runs in 6 innings at an average of 21.83, management have lost their patience with the 33-year-old batter and dropped the batter from the playing XI for the next match in Old Trafford, Manchester.

Nair returned to the playing XI for the final test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with Rishabh Pant being ruled out after fracturing his foot. The veteran batter returned with a gritty half-century on a tough pitch at The Oval in the first innings. However, his performance once again disappointed the fans as he was dismissed for a score of only 17 runs in the third innings.

It appears nearly impossible for Karun Nair to hang onto his spot in the starting lineup, given the wealth of talent that Team India has waiting on the bench, including players like Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, and Abhimanyu Easwaran. So there is a great chance he might be dropped from the team for the next series. Does that mean his international career is also over?

Karun Nair's overall Test record

After the 3rd England vs India Test match, Karun Nair has now featured in 9 Test matches for Team India and has scored 505 runs at an average of 42.1. Even while the average is noteworthy, it primarily stems from his unbeaten triple century in 2016.

But if we look in-depth into Nair’s career, he scored 4 runs off 4 balls in his debut match and 13 runs off 18 balls in the 2nd match. In his third game, he eventually scored the triple century.

After that, Nair once again featured for the Indian team in the hugely important Test series vs Australia. In that series, he produced 26 runs in the first inning of the 2nd Test after he wasn't included in the team for the 1st Test, and a golden duck in the 2nd inning. He scored 23 runs off 47 balls in the 3rd Test and 5 runs off 16 balls in the 4th Test.

That eventually brought a halt to his team India career. He eventually made his return in 2025 for the away series vs England. If we exclude his 303 runs innings, Karun Nair has scored 202 runs in 8 matches and averages approximately around 16-17. Not good enough for the talent he has. 

Pros in favour of Karun Nair

Test cricket is the game of the best of the best as it tests a player's patience level, fitness, and skill over the grueling five days of cricketing action. One must have the courage and determination to succeed in this format. And Karun Nair has displayed over the years that he is tailor-made for this format with his performance in the domestic circuit, especially in the last few years while playing for Vidarbha.

Test cricket also requires the experience to tackle every obstacle thrown at the player by the opposition team. One must have the right attitude when the opponent players speak harsh words at you. Karun Nair has been playing red-ball cricket since 2013 and has garnered enough experience to tackle all of that. 

Meanwhile, Karun Nair might not have a great England vs India Test series yet, but there is no denying he is currently one of the best middle-order options available for Team India. He has also showcased that he can perform on English conditions with his double century vs the England Lions just before the start of the series. He has also played County Championship for Northamptonshire for two years and scored 249 runs in 3 innings at an average of 83.00 in 2023 and 487 runs in 11 innings at an average of 48.70 in 2024. 

So it is not really the case that Nair can't play in English conditions, it is just that he is not in good form and doesn't look confident enough, again, another crucial aspect to succeed in Test cricket, especially on overseas tours.

Cons that are against Karun Nair’s international career

Meanwhile there are a lot of factors against Nair’s long run in the Indian team after a comeback to the team after almost a decade.

Karun Nair is 33 years old in 2025. He is currently one of the oldest members of the team and has loads of experience playing red ball cricket. But his recent form in the first three of the five-match series has shown that the batter lacks confidence and is not in good form right now. And at the age of 33, he can't expect a long rope if he can't succeed.

The competition is always fierce for a place in the Indian cricket team. There are loads of talents in the pipeline waiting for an opportunity, which is why whenever a player gets an opportunity to play for Team India, he must grab it with both hands or he will lose in the race for a place in the Indian team.

The Indian team has fierce competition in the middle order as well. While the other middle-order batters like captain Shubman Gill, vice-captain Rishabh Pant have thrived in the series, Nair has been hugely disappointing among all the middle-order batters. And with the likes of Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, and Abhimanyu Easwaran waiting for their opportunities, Karun Nair's place in the playing XI now seems short-lived.

BCCI’s Selection Dilemma: Preferring younger generation

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the selection committee led by former Indian cricket Ajit Agarkar wants to head into a new direction. Ever since the appointment of the new head coach Gautam Gambhir replacing Rahul Dravid, we have seen the management preferring the younger generation with the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma now retired from the format.

The 25-year-old batter Shubman Gill was recently made the captain of the team after Rohit Sharma retired from the format. Wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, has been named the new vice-captain. Both the batters can represent the Indian team for the next decade.

Meanwhile, the inclusion of the highly promising Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Arshdeep Singh alongside the young prospects like Yashasvi Jaiswal highlights the pathway the selection committee and the management are heading towards.

KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah are the most experienced members of the team, as Test cricket still needs experienced players, and these three players can bring that experience and guide the younger players.

In this scenario, for an unproven player like Karun Nair to keep his place in the Indian squad even beyond the England Test series looks a bit unlikely. BCCI has already moved on from the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, and Hanuma Vihari etc, who also fall in the same category as Nair, experienced, but have the dropped from the team to bring young players in the team.

Is Karun Nair's International Career Over?

There is no denying that Karun Nair worked hard and forced his way into the team. But, his performance for the Indian team hasn't been anything significant other than the triple century he scored way back in 2016. 

His performance in the England series looks to have already closed the doors even before the remaining two Test matches are played, where Nair is unlikely to feature in the team. But, if in case Nair gets an opportunity to prove himself in the next Two Tests, he has to do something that no one expected from him to have any chance of a future selection in the team.

Meanwhile, the BCCI and the selection committee’s decision to include more younger players in the team is also against Karun at the moment. So it is mostly going to be now or never for Nair if he still gets to play in the next Two Tests vs England in Manchester and London.

England once again take lead in Test series vs India

Meanwhile, it has been a ding-dong battle between the Indian cricket team and England in the first three Tests. England took the series lead with a win in Leeds, but Team India fought back in Birmingham to make it 1-1. However, with the 22-run win at Lord's, England have once again taken the lead in the series, making it 2-1 after the first three matches. The remaining two Test matches will be played in Manchester and London, starting from 23rd July and 31st July respectively.

The third Test at Lord's was a more competitive action than the first two Tests in Leeds and Birmingham, where we saw a batting-friendly surface. But London delivered something new for both teams. Both teams scored 387 runs in their respective first inning, with Joe Root and KL Rahul scoring a century for England and India, respectively.

England were then bowled out for 192 runs in the 2nd inning, setting a target of 193 runs for the Indian team. However, the batters completely flopped for Team India in this inning, other than KL Rahul. Ravindra Jadeja tried his level best with the tail-enders like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, but eventually India lost the match by 22 runs.