Karun Nair set to return to Northamptonshire for County Championship season in April

Indian batter Karun Nair will return to Northamptonshire for the County Championship season fixtures in April and May.

Nair will feature in the side's first seven games after going unsold in the IPL auction for the 2024 season, which will happen simultaneously with the County Championship.

Northamptonshire bought Nair's services for the final three games of last season in a desperate attempt to avoid being relegated to Division Two. However, they finished at the bottom of the table and will be part of Division Two in the upcoming season.

Yet, Karun Nair impressed with the bat in those games, scoring 249 runs at an average of 82 with a century and a half-century.

Northants' head coach, John Sadler, praised Nair's impact last season in his press release and expressed his delight at having the batter back for the upcoming campaign.

"Not only did he score some incredible runs for us, his calmness, his temperament, and his hunger for more runs was superb. We are delighted to get him on board with us again and I'm sure he will be a super asset for us again this season," Sadler said.

Nair's availability to the County side was initially not clear due to the possibility of his partaking in the IPL, considering him being a replacement player for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) from the middle of the 2023 season.

However, once he went unsold in the IPL 2024 auction, Northamptonshire jumped at the opportunity of resigning the Karnataka batter.

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"Our aim is to win games and get promoted" - Karun Nair

Karun Nair was delighted to return to the Northamptonshire setup and expressed his desire to help the team get re-promoted to Division One.

While the 32-year-old will feature in the first half of the season, he will be replaced by fellow Indian batter Prithvi Shaw for the latter half. The opening batter will join the side after he completes his IPL stint with the Delhi Capitals.

"I'm thrilled to be returning to Northamptonshire for another stint of County Championship cricket. Our aim is to win games and get promoted and I'm excited to get stuck in with the bat and help the team secure victories. I would like to thank the coach and captain for believing in me and giving me this wonderful opportunity. I was really happy with my form last season and hopefully I can get going right away and put big runs on the board," said Nair.

Karun Nair boasts an outstanding first-class record with over 6,000 runs at an average of 48.44, including 16 centuries. He has also played six Tests for India and remains one of only two Indian batters to score a triple-century against England in 2016.