Delhi's Nair grabs his chance on IPL return

Karun Nair had pleaded with the cricketing gods for another chance to revive his career at the end of 2022 and on Sunday the Delhi batter grabbed his opportunity with both hands, smashing a stunning fifty against Mumbai in the Indian Premier League.

Nair's post on X: "Dear cricket, give me one more chance", was doing the rounds on social media again after his stroke-filled 89 in his first IPL match in nearly three years.

Chasing 206, Delhi lost opener Jake Fraser-McGurk to the first ball of their innings and Nair walked in as the 'Impact Player', with tailender Mukesh Kumar making way for the 33-year-old.

After getting into his stride with a couple of sweetly-timed fours, Nair showed his range against arguably the best all-format bowler around when he hit Jasprit Bumrah for two sixes in an over en route to a 22-ball fifty.

"I felt confident. I felt like I'm well prepared to play in the IPL if given the opportunity," said Nair, whose 40-ball blitz was not enough for Delhi to avoid their first defeat of the season.

"It's always a tough call for the team to pick 11 or 12 players, and I've always respected that.

"Honestly, I had the confidence that I've played (in the IPL) before and I know how it's going to be."

Nair played six tests and two one-day internationals for India before falling out of favour.

He smashed a triple hundred against England in a 2016 test in Chennai and yet was dropped for the next match when teammate Ajinkya Rahane returned from injury.

Nair bounced around the IPL for several years but failed to make much of an impression during stints at Bangalore, Rajasthan, Delhi and Punjab.

After playing only three games for the Royals in 2022, Nair's future in the IPL looked bleak.

While his prayers for an IPL return went unanswered in 2023 and 2024, Nair's form in domestic cricket, where he scored a truckload of runs for his state team, prompted Delhi to take a punt on him for this year's tournament.

On Sunday it looked like he had never been away.

"In my mind, it was just about going out there and giving myself a few balls and just getting used to the speed of the game again and the atmosphere," Nair said.

"I just told myself, 'give yourself the time, play normal shots and then improvise when needed'.

"Fortunately, everything came off, and I'm happy that I batted well. But again, I would have loved if the team had gone on to win."