Karun Nair’s comeback trail has entered a fresh chapter. The Karnataka star will be facing Rajasthan Royals, the team which gave him his first breakthrough.
Life comes full circle for Karun Nair
Karun Nair made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut in 2013 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, against Mumbai Indians. Incidentally, it was the IPL debut of Jasprit Bumrah as well. Bumrah took 3 wickets that day. Virat Kohli was his first, Mayank Agarwal the 2nd, and Karun Nair was the third. Karun made a three-ball duck that day. Karun Nair won the battle against Jasprit Bumrah in his comeback game on Monday (April 14). Karun smashed 89 off 40 balls against MI, out of which 26 came off the 9 balls he faced from Bumrah.
Rahul Dravid-Karun Nair’s journey with RR
Karun Nair played just one more match for RCB in 2013 and was out of the playing XI. He made just 9 runs in 2 matches and failed to score a boundary.
Rajasthan Royals picked Karun Nair in the 2014 IPL auction for ₹1.25 crore. RR’s mentor for that season? None other than Rahul Dravid, the current head coach of the Jaipur-based franchise. Dravid got the best out of the fellow Karnataka boy. Karun made his maiden IPL fifty in his third match for RR. The opponents on that day? Delhi Capitals (Delhi Daredevils at that time). His 73* off 50 balls fetched his maiden Player of the Match award in IPL. He played two seasons (2014 and 2015) for RR in his first stint and then returned again in 2022.
Karun Nair for Rajasthan Royals in IPL: Innings – 25, Runs – 527, Fifties – 4
Rahul Dravid-Karun Nair’s journey with DC
When Rajasthan Royals was banned for two years (2016 and 2017), Delhi Capitals took Rahul Dravid as their mentor. Karun Nair too joined the Delhi franchisee. And 2016 was Karun’s best IPL season, where he amassed 357 runs in 12 innings at an average of 35.7.
Karun Nair for Delhi Capitals, 2016 and 2017: Innings – 25, Runs – 638, Fifties – 4
IPL 2025: Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals
Fast forward 8 years. Rahul Dravid returns to Rajasthan Royals as their head coach and Karun Nair is back from obscurity. The Mentor vs the Mentee. It’s going to be emotional for both men.
Stay updated on all the action from the IPL 2025. Check the IPL 2025 Schedule, track the latest IPL 2025 Points Table, and follow the top performers with the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.
