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Karun Nair dropped from Karnataka's SMAT 2025 squad amid T20 form dip after IPL retention

Aakash Saini

Karun Nair [Source: @Crex_live/x]Karun Nair [Source: @Crex_live/x]

Karun Nair was dropped from the Karnataka playing XI in their final Group match of the ongoing 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season. Merely a month after getting retained by the Delhi Capitals franchise for IPL 2026, Nair’s T20 form took a sharp turn for the worse, leaving little room for the selectors to look beyond the numbers.

In his first six matches of the tournament, Karun Nair managed to aggregate just 71 runs at a dismal average of 11.83, which included a 51-run knock in a single innings against Rajasthan last week in Ahmedabad.

Karun Nair fails to justify Delhi Capitals faith

Karun Nair has aggregated just 71 runs in six innings of the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at an average of 11.83. His latest struggles with the bat prompted the Karnataka team management to drop him from the playing XI in their final Group match of the tournament on December 8 against Tripura at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium B ground.

Karun Nair’s 2025 SMAT form marks a stark contrast to his prolific run for Vidarbha during the 2024 SMAT season last year, where the elegant right-handed batter charted 255 runs in just six innings at an average of 42.50 and a staggering strike rate of 177.08.

Amidst his run-scoring spree for Vidarbha, the forgotten Indian star was even roped in by the Delhi Capitals franchise for the IPL 2025 season, where he started off with a fighting 40-ball 89 against Mumbai Indians in Delhi.

As he struggles to conjure T20 runs for Karnataka in domestic cricket, Karun Nair now finds his IPL 2026 retention for the Capitals hanging under sharper scrutiny.

As of now, it remains to be seen if Karun Nair manages to revive his T20 career to justify Delhi Capitals faith just in time before IPL 2026 next year.