India and Vidarbha batter Karun Nair is in great form with the bat in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. Recently, Nair created a world record by scoring 542 runs in List A cricket without being dismissed.
After this achievement, Nair became the batter with the most no. of runs in List A cricket without being dismissed. Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa was highly impressed with Karun Nair’s recent performances with the bat.
Uthappa praised Nair’s rich vein of form and even considered him for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, which will begin in the month of February. While Nair has attracted attention in domestic cricket, it remains to be seen whether he will be considered for the marquee ICC tournament.
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Karun Nair receives support from Robin Uthappa
After Karun Nair created the world record, he received support from Robin Uthappa for a spot in India’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad. Uthappa called Nair “unstoppable” and backed him for the Champions Trophy.
“Unstoppable. And making each inning count. If that’s not a statement for a spot in the #ChampionsTrophy2025 squad then I don’t know what is!” Nair posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Unstoppable. And making each inning count. If that’s not a statement for a spot in the #ChampionsTrophy2025 squad then I don’t know what is! #TeamIndia https://t.co/lgk9zEDlOJ
— Robbie Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) January 4, 2025
Both Robin Uthappa and Karun Nair played cricket for Karnataka during the initial part of their career. However, Nair left Karnataka a few years ago and now plays cricket for Vidarbha. Currently, he is leading Vidarbha in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Fourth hundred in the last five innings
He has registered four hundreds in his last five List-A innings and has been dismissed just once. His last five scores read 112*, 44*, 163*, 111*, and 112. Nair will be aiming to continue his good form with the bat and carry Vidarbha all the way.
Karun Nair’s last knock of 112 came against Uttar Pradesh where he was dismissed for the first time in the last five innings. Earlier, he won the toss and put Uttar Pradesh to bat first.
Uttar Pradesh batters got starts but many of them were unable to convert them into big ones. There were plenty of thirties and twenties in the scorecard but apart from Sameer Rizvi, no batter was able to cross the fifty-run mark.
Rizvi smashed a magnificent 105 off just 82 balls and struck 5 fours and 7 sixes during his knock. Bowling allrounder Shivam Mavi provided the late impetus to the innings with 33 off just 20 balls to take UP to 307-8 in 50 overs.
Karun Nair leads Vidarbha to a fantastic win
In reply, Vidarbha started brilliantly as Yash Rathod and Dhruv Shorey provided them a good start. Shorey was dismissed but Nair steadied the innings and made full use of his good form. The Vidarbha skipper scored 112 off just 101 balls to take his team to the brink of a win.
He struck 11 fours and 2 sixes during his knock. However, Vidarbha cruised to the target as the wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma smashed a quickfire 7-ball-19 to finish off the game. Rathod remained unbeaten on 138 off 140 deliveries.
He hasn’t been around India’s selection for a while now. His last international match was way back in 2017 in a Test match against Australia. It will make his selection tough for the Champions Trophy.