Karun Nair, the batting star for the Ranji Trophy club Vidarbha, revealed that he had wanted to play for Kerala and had even contacted the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) before leaving the Karnataka team in 2023. He chose to relocate to Vidarbha instead, nevertheless, when talks did not proceed as planned.
The 33-year-old clarified that he attempted to contact KCA at the time as he was considering his options. But as the negotiations with Kerala were dragging on, Vidarbha made an offer and insisted that he decide quickly. Karun stated that he wasn’t in a position to wait much longer at that point in time. He desired for his cricket career to return to clarity and steadiness.
Karun also left the door open when asked if there was a potential that they might eventually relocate to Kerala.
It was the subject of talks. After I made up my mind to leave Karnataka, I started considering my choices. “There was some discussion about it, but it didn’t proceed,” Nair stated, according to Channel 24 in Malayalam.
“KCA had my offer, but it never came to pass. Vidarbha made me an offer at the same time. I needed some mental space because I wasn’t in the best mental state. I chose to work with Vidarbha because there was no other option except to join a team. You could never be sure. We’ll see if something like that occurs,” he continued.
Check out Karun Nair’s response here:
Karun Nair says he approached KCA & offered himself to play for Kerala Cricket Team after he got the confirmation from Karnataka team that he won’t be picked this season but KCA didn’t proceed. At the same time Vidarbha approached him and he accepted their offer
What a miss 😶 pic.twitter.com/uW9Ra3hgcd
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Karun Nair has been playing domestic cricket at an extremely high level.
Karun Nair has recovered his career since joining Vidarbha and is now among the best batsmen in Indian domestic cricket. This year, he excelled in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring 779 runs at an incredible average of 389.50 in just eight games.
Talks of a well-deserved inclusion in India’s Champions Trophy roster were even triggered by his form. When Karun scored a crucial half-century (86 off 188 balls) for his team in the first innings of the current Ranji Trophy final versus Kerala in Nagpur, he once again demonstrated his class.
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