India batter Karun Nair has been denied fitness clearance by the BCCI Centre of Excellence to participate in the KSCA Maharaja T20 Trophy 2025. According to a report by MyKhel, the Mysore Warriors star has not been given the green light to return to competitive action due to a finger injury he sustained during the fifth Test against England earlier this year. The 33-year-old was struck by a rising delivery at The Oval, which left him with a minor fracture and forced him out of the upcoming Duleep Trophy as well.
Although Nair was named in the Warriors’ squad, he has not been allowed to take the field yet. He initially travelled to Mysore for the start of the tournament but later returned to Bengaluru to continue his rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence before rejoining his team midweek.
This is a setback for Karun Nair after tough comeback
The setback comes at a difficult time for Nair, who recently made his long-awaited return to the Indian Test side after more than seven years. His comeback series in England did not go as planned, as he managed 205 runs from eight innings, including a lone half-century at The Oval. It was a high quality fifty in tough conditions.
With India set to play key home series against West Indies and South Africa later this year, Karun would hope consistency in his selection.
Nair’s absence is also a blow to Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy, where he was expected to play a key role. For now, the Karnataka batter remains under the observation of the BCCI medical team, and his return to competitive cricket will depend entirely on clearance from the Centre of Excellence.
Big loss for KSCA Maharaja Trophy too
Nair’s unavailability is also a setback for the KSCA Maharaja Trophy. The Mysore Warriors skipper has been the most dominant batter in the tournament’s short history, topping the run charts in both 2023 and 2024. He piled up 532 runs in the 2023 edition before breaking his own record in 2024 with 560 runs, including the highest individual score in the tournament’s history. His consistency was central to Mysore’s title-winning run last year.
In an exclusive chat with Insidesport recently, Nair also shared his thoughts on the KSCA Maharaja Trophy as he expressed his team’s excitement to play in front of their home crowd. “Yes of course, personally I will miss playing at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru because in the last two seasons, I have had great batting performances in the Chinnaswamy stadium and I’ve always had a great experience playing there. Bur having said that, to have the tournament in Mysuru and being a part of Mysuru is really special. We look forward to get all the support we can,” Karun Nair said.
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