No value of my knock if the team hasn't won: Karun Nair

Vidarbha batter Karun Nair made a solid comeback in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 with an amazing knock, albeit in a losing cause against Mumbai Indians. However, the 33-year-old batter was not pleased with his innings as he could not get the Delhi Capitals over the line in the match.

This seemed like a perfect return for Karun Nair after three years in the IPL, as he came in as an Impact Player and scored 89 off just 40 deliveries in the end. This was also his first half-century in the tournament in seven years. Though this was a remarkable innings from the ace batter, it turns out he was not satisfied with the knock and refused to talk about it at all during the post-match press conference, the reason being his team ending on the losing side. He also talked about how important it was for the set batters to stay at the crease longer.

“We play to win the match, so there is disappointment. And no matter how much we score, if the team does not win, then there is no value of it. For me, the team’s win was very important, and it did not happen. But it’s a learning, and we will go forward, and I hope I will keep performing like this, and we will win. There is no point talking about my innings, because I played well, but I could not finish, so there is disappointment," the senior batter told at the post-match party.

“Obviously, it was easier for the set batter to play than for the new batter. So it was very important for a set batter to continue. We lost wickets at regular intervals, so it was difficult for us in the end. But having said that, they (MI) also bowled well and put us under pressure. We were not able to stitch partnerships, which is important in T20. But that happens because we are all looking to score runs quickly, and like I said before, it’s a learning, and we have to take this forward in the next games and keep up the winning momentum that we have," the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 winner added.

Mentally, I was ready and looking forward to the chance: Nair

There was another factor that would have also affected Karun Nair, which was that he came as a replacement for Faf du Plessis, who missed out on the match due to injury. The India international also opened up on how he managed to overpower the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, against whom scored 26 runs from nine deliveries in the match.

“Look, obviously, we lost an important player in Faf, and we always knew there were a few of us who were sitting outside who are batsmen who should be and have to be ready at any given time. So mentally I was ready and looking forward to the chance whenever it came. So I am really happy that I got the opportunity. It’s about me now, going out there and capitalising on that opportunity,” Karun said.

“I was confident, and I was playing; I was in the flow, and I didn’t want to stop the flow, so it was about picking the right balls and playing to the areas that I wanted to play, and he is the best bowler at the moment in world cricket, so I had to be very watchful of where he is going to bowl, but again, I just backed myself and backed the areas that I wanted to score,” he concluded.