It was sacrilegious to even think of dropping Nair given his rich vein of form in domestic cricket in the last two seasons.
After a blockbuster 2024-25 season during which he knocked open the door to the Indian team, Nair was back in the fold for Karnataka in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season and has continued to do what he does the best, piling runs in First Class cricket.
Nair notched a double ton (233) against Kerala, scored an unbeaten century (173 not out) against Goa and hit a crucial fifty against Saurashtra (73) this season.
However, after being retained by Delhi Capitals in IPL, Nair failed in SMAT, and his drop of form coincided with a sub-par performance of Karnataka in the tournament. “I was pretty happy with the way I was batting this season but probably not in T20. I managed only one fifty and failed a few times and was disappointed with my performance in SMAT.
“I am happy I have found my form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. As a senior player, I know my role and responsibility and I am happy that I am contributing for the team,’’ he said after his century against Kerala carried the defending champion to its second straight win in the tournament.
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“Irrespective of the formats, I always look for scoring opportunities and don’t mind taking the odd risk early. I try to dominate the spinners by playing the sweep shots both regular and reverse. I trust my methods which have brought me success,’’ he said.
Nair has been a thorn for Kerala and the unbeaten 130 was the third century this year against it. However, he says he was just making up for the early failures against Kerala. The 34-year-old said, he wasn’t thinking far too ahead but is focussed on helping Karnataka retain the VHT trophy.
Published on Dec 27, 2025
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