Karun Nair drops retirement bombshell, claims prominent Indian cricketer forced him to retire for money
Published - 16 Jun 2025, 12:05 PM | Updated - 16 Jun 2025, 02:30 PM
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Ahead of his much-awaited Test return, Karun Nair has revealed the shocking advice he received from a prominent Indian cricketer while he was struggling to get his career back on track.
The right-handed batsman became a household name in India in 2016 when he smashed a stunning triple century against England in the Chennai Test.
Karun Nair hit an unbeaten 303 runs
He scored an unbeaten 303 runs and became only the second Indian, after the legendary Virender Sehwag to score a triple century in Tests.
However, Karun Nair struggled to live up to the expectations and soon lost his place in the Test team after a string of poor performances. He lost his place in the Test team in 2017 and has not played a Test since then. His performance in domestic cricket was not up to the mark either.
In 2022, the 33-year-old was also dropped from the Karnataka team, which prompted him to write the famous heart-breaking message on social media, 'Dear cricket, give me one more chance'. Cricket did give Karun Nair another chance, and he grabbed it with both hands.
He starred with the bat in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Vidarbha, registering scores of 112*, 44*, 163*, 111*, 112, 122*, 88* in consecutive innings. He eventually finished the tournament with 779 runs at an average of 389.50.
His performance in last season's Ranji Trophy was equally impressive. In 9 games, he scored 863 runs, including 4 centuries and 2 fifties to help Vidarbha win the trophy.
When Karun Nair was asked to give up
Karun Nair was finally rewarded for his impressive display in domestic cricket with a place in the India Test squad for the upcoming series against England. The batsman will be hoping to live up to the expectations in international cricket now.
As he gears up for his much-awaited return to international cricket, Karun Nair has made a shocking revelation that a prominent Indian cricketer once asked him to retire from international cricket and focus on earning money through T20 leagues.
"I still remember a prominent Indian cricketer calling me and saying I should retire because the money in these leagues would make me secure," Nair told Mail Sport.
It would have been easy to do - Karun Nair
"It would have been easy to do, but I knew that regardless of the money, I would be kicking myself for giving up that easily.
"I was never going to give up on playing for India again. That was just over two years ago, and look where we are now. It's crazy, but deep down, I knew I was good enough," he added.
Nair recently scored a double-century for India A against England Lions and is likely to be a part of the playing eleven for the first Test against England. The five-match series is scheduled to get underway on June 20 in Leeds.
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