Karun Nair, born on December 6, 1991 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, is one of Indian cricket's most talked-about cases of unfulfilled potential. Despite producing moments of genuine brilliance at the highest level, his international career never gained the momentum that many felt it deserved.
His story is marked by three clear instances where good performances were not rewarded with a sustained run in the side. Each episode left fans and former cricketers questioning the decisions made around his selection.
3. Lost Karnataka spot and went unsold in IPL despite domestic runs
In the 2021-22 season, Nair had lost his place in Karnataka's Ranji Trophy squad, a significant blow for a player of his standing. He went unsold at the 2025 IPL mega auction held in Saudi Arabia, which further underlined how far his stock had fallen.
Earlier, poor outings in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, along with two difficult IPL seasons, had damaged his reputation. The contrast was stark because, around January 2025, Nair led Vidarbha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and scored five centuries in six innings, accumulating 752 runs. That kind of domestic form would ordinarily attract attention, yet national recall did not follow, making this period another example of his difficult relationship with consistent selection.
2. Overlooked during the 2018 England Test series
Despite being selected in the squad for the England Test series in 2018, Nair did not get a single opportunity to bat in the playing XI. He was eventually dropped in favour of Hanuma Vihari without being given a chance to prove himself on that tour. This came even as Nair had been performing consistently in the domestic circuit, including a 153-run innings against Vidarbha in a home season.
He had also faced challenges breaking into the playing XI for the Afghanistan series that preceded the England tour. The inability to nail down the number four position in the Test side, despite domestic runs, made this one of the more frustrating chapters of his career.
1. Dropped after scoring 303* vs England in 2016
Karun Nair scored an unbeaten 303 in just his third Test match, against England in Chennai in 2016. The knock came off 381 balls and made him only the second Indian to score a triple century in Test cricket, placing him among just 28 batters in history to cross the 300-run mark in the format. Harbhajan Singh later said: "I never understood how he was dropped after a triple century."
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Despite the historic innings, Nair managed only 71 runs across his next four innings, with a highest score of 26. He was subsequently dropped from the national side and replaced by Ajinkya Rahane in the next Test series. The 303 not out remained a solitary peak in an otherwise brief Test career. Rahane's prolific success, especially on overseas tours, made Nair's comeback all the more difficult.
