Indian batter Karun Nair will join the Northamptonshire jersey again for the upcoming County Championship after a successful stint in the last season.
Nair will play a total of seven games in the season. He played a total of three games in the previous edition in Division. While he delivered with knocks of 78, 150, and 21 in three innings, it could not save Northamptonshire from relegation to Divison 2.
"I'm thrilled to be returning to Northamptonshire for another stint of County Championship cricket. I would like to thank the coach and captain for believing in me and giving me this wonderful opportunity," Nair said in a release by the club.
Nair is currently struggling to score big in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2023-24. He has managed to score just 78 runs from five innings for Vidarbha so far.
Meanwhile, Northamptonshire head coach John Sadler is happy to acquire Nair's services once again.
"Because of the impact Karun had with us last season, he was always our main target to get back with us this season,” he said.
"We are delighted to get him on board with us again, and I'm sure he will be a super asset for us again this season."
Nair has had a short Test career. He made his Test debut in 2016 against England. In Bengaluru, he went on to become the second triple centurion for India after Virender Sehwag. However, that was the only remarkable knock from seven Test innings. He scored a total of 374 runs from six Tests. He was not given a longer run in ODIs as well. In two ODIs, he has 46 runs.
In the second half of the County Championship, Nair will be replaced by another out-of-favour Indian batter Prithvi Shaw. The 24-year-old had a sensational run for Northants in List A format. After two unimpressive scores, he smashed a record-breaking 244 against Somerset. He followed it up with an unbeaten 125 against Durham.
A knee injury forced Shaw out of action. He is yet to return to competitive cricket after August 2023.
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