Right after the Test call, the domestic cricket stalwart Karun Nair has decided to rejoin the cricket board of his home state, Karnataka. Nair will resume his domestic session for the states from 2025/26. 

Karun started his career representing Karnataka but shifted gears to Vidharbha, where he enjoyed his dream stint in the 2024/25 session, the one that earned him the Test call after 7 years. It was in 2022, when Karun joined Vidharbha until he took his next call.

As per a report from Cricbuzz, Karun Nair will rejoin Karnataka, his core team since his junior level. Not only that, when he debuted in international Test cricket, that is in 2016, the right-handed batter was still a part of Karnataka.

However, Karnatak dropped him four years after his debut, and that made him change the badge. After two successful years, Nair is all set to join his roots.

Read also: Gill on Team Strategy, Bond with Pant Before Headingley Test

Karun Nair has made a compelling case for his return to the Indian Test side after a standout domestic season. In the 2023–24 Ranji Trophy, the Karnataka batter amassed 863 runs across 9 matches. His consistency extended into the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he struck 779 runs in just 8 innings at a staggering average of 389.50. The list included five centuries and a fifty, underlining his dominance in the domestic circuit.

Despite his impressive form, the 33-year-old was overlooked for the 2025 Champions Trophy squad. However, his performances have earned him a recall to the Test setup, positioning him to possibly play his first red-ball game for India since 2017. Although selected for the 2018 England tour, he didn’t feature in the playing XI and was subsequently dropped.

Karun Nair remains one of only two Indians to have scored a triple century in Test cricket. He has 374 Test runs from six matches and featured in two ODIs, debuting in 2016 alongside KL Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal.