Karun Nair

Summary

Karun Kaladharan Nair (born 6 December 1991) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Vidarbha in domestic cricket and Lucknow Super Giants in Indian Premier League. He is a right-handed top order batter and occasional off break bowler.[2] He is only the second[3] Indian batter to score a triple century in Test cricket.[4]

Karun Nair
Personal information
Full name
Karun Kaladharan Nair
Born (1991-12-06) 6 December 1991 (age 32)
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India (from South Kerala)
NicknameKulla[1]
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RoleBatter
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 287)26 November 2016 v England
Last Test25 March 2017 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 212)11 June 2016 v Zimbabwe
Last ODI13 June 2016 v Zimbabwe
ODI shirt no.69
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2023–presentVidarbha
2012–2023Karnataka (squad no. 69)
2012–2013Royal Challengers Bangalore (squad no. 69)
2014–2015, 2022Rajasthan Royals (squad no. 69)
2016–2017Delhi Daredevils (squad no. 69)
2018–2020Kings XI Punjab (squad no. 69)
2023Northamptonshire (squad no. 69)
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 6 2 76 78
Runs scored 374 46 5,436 1,953
Batting average 62.33 23.00 50.33 31.50
100s/50s 1/0 0/0 14/25 2/12
Top score 303* 39 328 120
Balls bowled 12 1269 750
Wickets 0 13 14
Bowling average 52.30 44.78
5 wickets in innings 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 2/11 2/16
Catches/stumpings 3/– 0/– 64/– 29/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 25 December 2019

He made his India debut in the 2016 away ODI against Zimbabwe.[5] He made his Test debut against England in 2016.[6]

Early life edit

Karun was born on 6 December 1991 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.[7] His parents Kaladharan Nair and Prema Nair hails from Chengannur in Alappuzha district of Kerala.[8] Kaladharan, who is a mechanical engineer, was posted in Jodhpur at the time of his son's birth and later moved with his family to Koramangala, Bangalore where he also worked on the sprinkler system at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.[9] Nair's mother, Prema is a teacher at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Bangalore. Karun has an elder sister, Shruthi Nair.[10]

Born as a premature baby, Karun's parents were advised by the doctors to introduce their son to sports as part of the treatment for his weak lungs.[11] Nair joined Koramangala Cricket Academy on 28 March 2001, a year after his family moved to Bengaluru and was coached under Shivanand.[12] He studied at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, were his mother taught until fourth grade and switched to the Frank Anthony Public School for better cricketing opportunities.[13][14] He studied BCom (Hons) at Jain University in Bangalore.[10] He is fluent in several languages : English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil. His mother-tongue is Malayalam.[15]

Domestic career edit

Nair made his first-class debut in the 2013–14 season in which Karnataka won the Ranji Trophy. He scored three consecutive centuries in their final league game and the first-two knockout matches. He went through a lean patch in the 2014–15 season with a string of low scores but bounced back smashing 328 runs in the final[16] helping Karnataka to win the title again.[17] He also became the second player from Karnataka to score a triple century and the first batter to score a triple century in a Ranji final since 1946–47.[18] It was also the highest total by a batter in the final of Ranji Trophy.[19] He scored 500 runs in the 2015–16 Ranji Trophy including two centuries and two half-centuries.[20] He continued his good run in the next season hitting one century and three half-centuries from his six appearances in the season.[21]

In October 2018, he was named in India A's squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy.[22] The following month, he was named as one of eight players to watch ahead of the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy.[23] In August 2019, he was named in the India Red team's squad for the 2019–20 Duleep Trophy.[24][25]

International career edit

Nair was named in the Indian ODI and T20I squads for their series against Zimbabwe in May 2016[26] and made his One Day International (ODI) debut in the series at Harare Sports Club on 11 June 2016.[5]

On 26 November 2016, he made his Test debut against England at Mohali.[27] He scored his maiden Test century in the final match of the series at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, going on to finish 303 not out.[28][29] He was only three innings old in international cricket then, thus becoming the quickest batsman to hit a maiden triple-hundred in Test cricket history in term of number of matches played. He was also India's second ever triple-centurion after Virender Sehwag, and only the third man in the game's history to convert a maiden Test ton into a triple.[30] India won the match by an innings and 75 runs, and Nair was named as the player of the match.[31]

Indian Premier League edit

Karun was a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2012 and 2013 seasons of Indian Premier League.[32] He got his breakthrough season with Rajasthan Royals in the 2014 IPL scoring 330 runs in the season at a strike rate of 142.24.[33]

In 2016, Delhi Daredevils signed Karun[34] after Rajasthan was banned from the competition for two years after being found guilty in illegal betting and match-fixing probe.[35] He captained Delhi in 3 matches after an injury to Zaheer Khan in the 2017 season.[36]

He was bought by Kings XI Punjab in the 2018 IPL auction.[37] In February 2021, Nair was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL auction ahead of the 2021 Indian Premier League.[38] In February 2022, he returned to Rajasthan Royals in the auction for the 2022 Indian Premier League tournament.[39]

Personal life edit

In July 2016, Karun survived a boat accident in river Pampa in Kerala during a thanksgiving temple visit after making his ODI debut.[40]

He announced his engagement with longtime girlfriend Sanaya Tankariwala, a media professional on 29 June 2019 through his social media handles.[41] The couple got married in a private ceremony at Udaipur, Rajasthan on 19 January 2020.[42] Their son, Kayaan Nair was born in January 2022.[43]

References edit

  1. ^ "KL Rahul reveals the funny nicknames of his Punjab teammates". Red Bull. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Karun Nair". ESPNcricinfo.
  3. ^ The first being Virender Sehwag
  4. ^ "Karun Nair's record-shattering triple hundred: All the stats you need to know". India Today. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b "India tour of Zimbabwe, 1st ODI: Zimbabwe v India at Harare, Jun 11, 2016". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  6. ^ "England bat first; Rahul injured, Nair handed debut". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Karun Nair: Quick Facts About India's New Batting Star". News 18. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Cricket was in his blood from age 10: Karun Nair's parents". Sports Keeda. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  9. ^ Monga, Sidharth. "Parental pride as Nair feels the hand of fortune at last". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b Bhatia, Neeru (1 January 2017). "Double-clicked!". The Week. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Karun Nair's Incredible Journey To Become A Star Cricketer". outlookindia.
  12. ^ "Karun Nair was destined for great things; feels childhood coach Shivanand". crictracker. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  13. ^ Chatterjee, Soumya. "As Karun Nair joins elite 300 club, proud school in Bengaluru recalls his dedication". The News Minute. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  14. ^ Achal, Ashwin (19 December 2016). "Since he was 12, Karun wanted to play for India". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  15. ^ "What languages does Karun Nair speak?". Google Cameos.
  16. ^ "Karun Nair's long wait for maiden Test cap could come to an end next week". India Today. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  17. ^ "The Ranji Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Karun Nair first batsman in 68 years to score triple century in Ranji final". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  19. ^ "The most exhilarating ODI of them all". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Records / Ranji Trophy, 2015/16 - Karnataka / Batting and bowling averages". ESPNcricinfo.
  21. ^ "Records / Ranji Trophy, 2016/17 - Karnataka / Batting and bowling averages". ESPNcricinfo.
  22. ^ "Rahane, Ashwin and Karthik to play Deodhar Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  23. ^ "Eight players to watch out for in Ranji Trophy 2018-19". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  24. ^ "Shubman Gill, Priyank Panchal and Faiz Fazal to lead Duleep Trophy sides". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Duleep Trophy 2019: Shubman Gill, Faiz Fazal and Priyank Panchal to lead as Indian domestic cricket season opens". Cricket Country. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  26. ^ "India pick Faiz Fazal for Zimbabwe tour". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  27. ^ "England bat first; Rahul injured, Nair handed debut". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  28. ^ "Karun Nair smashes sensational triple ton to put India on top in Chennai Test". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  29. ^ Stadium, Vic Marks at the MA Chidambaram (19 December 2016). "Karun Nair scores 303 in India's highest Test total as England's misery continues". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  30. ^ "Karun Nair had 1 or 2 average Test matches and he was sidelined," says former batting coach Sanjay Bangar". India Today. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  31. ^ "England tour of India, 5th Test: India v England at Chennai, Dec 16–20, 2016".
  32. ^ "IPL: 5 Players who were part of RCB you never know". Crictracker. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Whenever I scored runs, there's someone else who scored better: Karun Nair". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  34. ^ "List of players sold and unsold at IPL auction 2016". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  35. ^ "IPL scandal: Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals suspended". BBC News. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  36. ^ "5 surprise captains in the history of IPL". Sports Keeda. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  37. ^ "List of sold and unsold players". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  38. ^ "IPL 2021 auction: The list of sold and unsold players". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  39. ^ "IPL 2022 auction: The list of sold and unsold players". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  40. ^ "How Karun Nair escaped death and went on to create cricket history for India". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  41. ^ "Karun Nair gets engaged to long-time girlfriend". Sports NDTV. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  42. ^ "Karun Nair marries long-time girlfriend Sanaya Tankariwala". Sports NDTV. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  43. ^ "Finch Jr Meets Nair Jr". Rediff.com. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.

External links edit