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. Karun made 104 off 183 balls (12×4, 1×6) against Chhattisgarh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, the in-form batter found no place in the ongoing Duleep Trophy final against East Zone. Ishan Kishan made a stupendous 270 to lead East Zone to a mammoth first-innings total of more than 700.
In fact, South Zone ignored the Karnataka batter rather inexplicably in the semifinal as well, which was played last week at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. “Inexplicable would be an understatement,” he wrote in a post on X while replying to a post about his absence from the Duleep Trophy.
Inexplicable would be an understatement https://t.co/kPtzds8r6f
— Karun Nair (@karun126) September 7, 2026
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.
“Actually, we went with a good combination because every team has two left-arm spinners. 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.”
Verma attributed Karun’s absence to “personal reasons.”
“He went back due to personal reasons at home. He mailed us and took permission for his travel due to family reasons,” he said.
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 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.
It may also suggest that South Zone missed a trick by overlooking Karun after conceding 708 runs against East Zone in the Duleep Trophy title clash on a placid pitch.
The Karnataka batter, a dominant player against spin, would have relished taking on the tweakers at the Chidambaram Stadium.
However, Verma felt South Zone were still in the contest.
“Our plan is to play session by session and build partnerships so that we bat for five sessions from now and chase down East’s total of 708,” he said.
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