Veteran India batter Karun Nair will have to wait in order to make his return to competitive cricket as the BCCI has blocked him from participating in the KSCA Maharaja T20 Trophy. The 34-year-old wasn't given fitness clearance by the Centre of Excellence (CoE) and thus he will have to continue his rehabilitation process.
Nair was set to feature for the Mysore Warriors in the upcoming season of the KSCA Maharaja T20 Trophy and had even travelled with the side to Mysore. However, he will now be returning to the CoE in Bengaluru and will rehab until he gets fitness clearance from the BCCI.
Nair had sustained a major blow to his finger during the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England which had come to conclusion earlier this month. The batter's finger ended up being fractured and is still not fully healed..
This will be nothing short of a massive blow for the Mysore Warriors as Nair was arguably their most important player. Notably, the batter had led the side to the trophy last season and had scored 560 runs as well. He had also given massive contributions with the bat in the 2023 season and had finished the campaign with 532 runs under his name.
Major blow for Central Zone as well
Meanwhile, this will also be a big setback for Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy as Nair was expected to bat in the middle-order for the side. The batter had had a stellar domestic season last year which was one of the main reasons why he was called back to India's Test set-up after almost 8 years. However, he is now not only set to miss a T20 tournament, but also quite an important competition in domestic cricket. Currently, there is no further update on Nair's injury and it is not known as to when he will return to full fitness.
ALSO READ: The Hundred's Oval Invincibles to be renamed as MI London next season? Report makes big claim
On the other hand, Nair had recently featured for India in four out of five Tests against England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Though he had come into the series on the back of an incredible domestic season, he failed to replicate that form on the international circuit. The batter only managed to score a total of 205 runs in eight innings for the Men in Blue, including just one 50+ score. With the Indian team set to play a 2-match Test series against West Indies at home from October 2, it remains to be seen if Nair will be picked in the squad again or not.