Karun made 104 off 183 balls (12×4, 1×6) against Chhattisgarh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Ishan Kishan made a stupendous 270 to lead East Zone to a mammoth first-innings total of more than 700. However, the in-form batter found no place in the ongoing Duleep Trophy final against East Zone.
Seasoned batter Karun Nair gave a glimpse of what South Zone will be missing in the Duleep Trophy final with a century for KSCA Secretary’s XI in the ongoing Dr (Capt) K Thimmappaiah Memorial Tournament in Bengaluru on Monday.
In fact, Karun, who had scored 699 runs in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season for Karnataka, had left the team on a Sunday evening flight to Bengaluru. The 34-year-old’s century ensured that Secretary’s XI finished Day 1 of the match against Chhattisgarh at 277 for 9 in 90 overs. Because every team has two left-arm spinners, “Actually, we went with a good combination. “He went back due to personal reasons at home. He mailed us and took permission for his travel due to family reasons,” he said.
So, we thought a left-handed batter in the middle order would give us a good chance to dominate them,” said South Zone coach Vikram Verma. “So again, we thought about what is best for the team. Now, since Devdutt Padikkal has come back, the team combination issue was there. It is very difficult to leave him (Karun) out, but that’s the combination we have. However, Karun’s participation in a tournament in his home city indicated that his absence from the domestic season opener may have involved more than mere “personal reasons. The Karnataka batter, a dominant player against spin, would have relished taking on the tweakers at the Chidambaram Stadium.
