Karun Nair’s comeback story has not really unfolded in a manner that he would have liked. The right-handed batsman made a fairytale return to international cricket after almost a decade.
He last played a Test for India in early 2017 before being dropped. Eight years after that axing, the middle-order batsman finally earned a recall after toiling hard in domestic cricket. He was recalled by the national selectors for the ongoing tour of England after his stunning performance in the Ranji Trophy. He immediately justified the selection by scoring a double century for India A against England Lions.
Unsurprisingly, he was included in the playing eleven for the first Test against England. However, Karun Nair was out for a duck in his comeback innings before scoring 20 runs in the second innings as India lost the series-opener. Karun Nair was retained in the team for the second and third Tests as well but he failed to score big in either of them.
He managed to score only 131 runs in six innings at 21.83 without scoring a single fifty. With the series on line, the Indian team-management finally ran out of patience and dropped him from the playing eleven for the ongoing fourth Test.
Karun Nair gets emotional:
Many believe that Karun Nair has possibly wasted his last chance to nail his spot in the Indian Test team. With age not on his side, things could very well go downhill for him after the latest setback. And it looks like Karun Nair is well aware of the situation.
A photo of the batsman looking visibly emotional has been doing the rounds on social media with many saying that he is all set to retire from international cricket now. In the photo, KL Rahul could be seen consoling Nair as the latter struggled to contain his emotions.
Karun Nair Caught Crying then KL Rahul Consoled.. probably he is talking about Retirement😓#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/tyJAZ7c9ij
— CricketQuickBuzz (@CricketQuickBuz) July 24, 2025
Is Karun Nair crying? pic.twitter.com/WDFTR6UPCL
— abhay singh (@abhaysingh_13) July 24, 2025
I feel very bad to see Karun Nair crying like this. I wish the team management would give him another chance to prove himself. 💔🥺 pic.twitter.com/NF5jfMotSZ
— KLR (@KLRNation1) July 24, 2025
End of Karun Nair’s test career. Don’t know if it’s harsh. But he certainly can’t complain much having got 6 chances on great batting pitches and not being able to make it count even once. At 32-33, there’s no likelihood for more chances now.
— Aditya Joshipura (@absurd_random) July 23, 2025
Feels like this was Karun Nair’s last Test series. Dropped for the 4th Test, and it’s clear — performing under that kind of pressure isn’t easy when the whole nation is watching. Now even “better luck next time” feels hard to say.💔 #KarunNair #INDvsENG
— . (@CricCrazyDeepak) July 23, 2025
Feels like this could be the last Test appearance for Karun Nair for India. Feel for him 💔.
– Karun Nair on his return to Test Cricket so far:
0, 20, 31, 26, 40, 14. pic.twitter.com/3rclTLcNm8
— Nadeem (@cricupdatesonX) July 24, 2025